Punjab

Corruption was rampant in PTI’s ‘Naya’ Pakistan: Shehbaz

LAHORE, Jan 25 (SABAH): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that corruption was rampant in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)’s ‘Naya’ Pakistan, slamming the government over the country’s dismal ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly stated that “according to Transparency International, the PTI government has broken all records of corruption in the last 20 years”.

Shehbaz Sharif highlighted that among the Asia-pacific region, Pakistan has “unfortunately” been ranked as the fifth most corrupt country, deriding PM Imran Khan as the “anti-corruption Muhajid”.

The Opposition leader said the prime minister’s “corruption rank” was increasing at a rapid pace, as he lamented that Pakistan’s further slip in the corruption perception index was unfortunate.

Shahbaz Sharif said during ex-premier Nawaz Sharif’s government, “corruption had witnessed a decrease due to PML-N’s transparency, good governance, and reforms, Pakistan’s rank increased”.

He said when there is corruption in every sector, including electricity, gas, medicine, LNG, coronavirus funds, then why won’t the corruption perception index fall from 124 to 140.

He emphasised that under the current government corruption had hit “an all-time high despite the fact that no worthwhile development has taken place”.

In a major blow to the PTI accountability narrative, Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog, placed Pakistan at the 140th position out of 180 countries on its CPI for 2021.

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.

In 2018, Pakistan ranked at 117 out of 180 on the CPI, but over the three years, it slipped every year to reach 140 in 2021. In 2020, Pakistan ranked at 126 on the index.