Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry has said that the country's depreciation in the corruption index wasn't because of monetary corruption but due to 'political corruption' and lack of the rule of law.
In a major blow to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) accountability narrative, Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog, has placed Pakistan at the 140th position out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2021.
Speaking to the media following the Cabinet's meeting on Tuesday, the minister insisted there had been no increase in the "financial corruption" in the country.
"Transparency International's report hasn't been published yet, and it also doesn't mention any financial corruption."
وفاقی وزیر اطلاعات و نشریات چوہدری فواد حسین کی کابینہ اجلاس سے متعلق اہم پریس کانفرنس۔@fawadchaudhry @MoIB_Official https://t.co/wAoKYIAeDT
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) January 25, 2022
Fawad, however, admitted that there was a need to work on the "rule of law", saying: "We need to rid of the notion that there are separate laws for the rich and the poor in Pakistan."
He went on to say that the report had been prepared on the basis of [input from] various institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
"All institutions retained the ranking; the depreciation is only by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)."
He then added, "If you find out who is the chief of that unit in Pakistan, you'll find out why the ranking plunged."
Also read: Shehbaz guns for govt over Transparency Int'l ranking
Meanwhile, addressing a presser, Minister of State Farrukh Habib claimed that no corruption case "has so far come to light during the incumbent government's rule.
According to him, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was misinterpreting the report of Transparency International, as "no financial corruption has been pointed out".
The CPI is an index published annually by the global watchdog, which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys."
The PTI that came to power with a slogan to eradicate corruption has seen the graft level surge throughout the country during its three-year rule.
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