Prologue:

Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency.F.Scott Fitzgerald

To be in harmony with a Corrupt and unscrupulous system: this is
not a plausible desideratum. It can be achieved only through
disavowal of what surrounds us. Sadly, we are in a complete
harmony with our surroundings and denial has become the most
abundant renewable resource in our country. Denial of corruption
has become the norm rather than the exception and it has
transformed in to a technique adopted just to bypass the rule of
law and engulfing the whole system into socio-economic turmoil.
By the same token whenever a man has power to do something
which the other men need, the doer takes some benefit out of it.
As long as this benefit is sanctioned by social laws and moral
codes, it is all right but beyond that it becomes
corruption.Correspondingly what ever could be legally gotten
away with, is being tolerated through a passionate spinning of
erroneous narrative, blaming someone for something and then
everyone for everything. Repudiating our own contribution and
moral inconsistencies, we are in a cognitive dissonance between
political idealism and hard wired evolutionary psychology that
sways mans mind to be awed by the corrupt and powerful. We
are overwhelmed with the desire of being like them and start
following their footsteps.Consequently, the poor are sidelined, the
rich are bestowed, the needy are ignored and the affluent are
delivered in our so called pursuit of happiness thus making the
socio economic situation much more dubious and gloomy.
Present Situation:
Pakistan is the 117th least corrupt nation out of 175 countries,
according to the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by
Transparency International. Despite this improvement, the current
situation is not satisfactory and the devil of corruption is reigning
every field of national activity. Moreover anti corruption
departments are still dabbling instead of implementation of

measures in letter and spirit for thwarting the ongoing rampant

and carte blanche regarding corruption.Due to these reasons the
current Pakistan regime has rightly concluded that in order to
provide a suitable system in the future, corruption from all
segments of society must be eliminated. This task has been
identified as a priority objective because a Government rooted in
the masses, committed to public well-being, cannot afford to
loose the opportunity or down play the problem of accountability
for if it does so it will do it at its own peril. So the present
elements of corruption that are proving to be an impediment in
this regard include

Present Elements of Corrution:

1. Public Utilities
In terms of the amount of corrupt money changing hands,
taxation department, state-owned banks and DFIs, power
sector utilities like WAPDA, Sui-Gas etc., and other public works
departments account for the large scale institutional
corruption.
2. The Tax Regime
Characterized Pakistans Taxation system by widespread tax
evasion, lack of documentation, existence of large untaxed
sectors and weak administrative capacity to collect taxes
resulting in as much as 50% of the total urban income going
unreported. As per recent estimates, annual tax evasion stands at
Rs. 218 billion.
3. Public Sector Banking

Public Sector Banks have dominated the financial sector since the
nationalization of the Banks in the 1970s, have experienced
serious deterioration in their loan portfolios mainly because of
political interference in their lending and loan recovery decisions.
About 90% of the defaulted loans and bad debt concentrated
among a small number of influential people.

4. Public Sector Expenditures Due to a non-transparent

process and weak accountability system, the public sector
expenditures are officially misused, thereby, kickbacks and
pilferage of revenue is in connivance with the public officials.
5. Underground Economy : The burgeoning under ground
economy and smuggling in large part are symptoms of wide
spread corruption in Pakistans economy. This underground
economy has expanded at an annual rate of 20% over the last 23
years as compared to the average annual growth of 17% under
normal GDP.

Causes:
Low Salaries

The basic reason for corruption is low salaries as everyone is

finding a way to better their living standard as much as they can;
its also a human nature that he has everything more and more.
So mostly corruption is to be seen where there are people having
fewer salaries they use corrupt ways to achieve the goal. It is true
that they do not have any other way to fulfill their wants.
Lack of accountability and regulation:
Corruption is more prevalent because lack of accountability and
regulation. If money that the government receives is going in
their pockets rather than being spent on the people who need it,
on their education, health and so on, then the consequences are
obvious that many people don't pay taxes because they don't
trust the government to spend it on the people, they think they
are corrupt and the money would just disappear. And so this
creates a vicious circle. People don't see the government doing
anything to help them, so they think it's a waste of time to pay
taxes. The government doesn't get any money from taxes and so
can't do anything to help people.
Culture:
Corruption on the low-level is systematic and fed by desperation.
In many of these nations, it's almost expected that a policeman or
clerk will earn a fair amount of income through bribes, so the
states pay those workers less based on that assumption. Bribes
and the like become a kind of tip. Even in situations where this is
not true, there's still the temptation of extra cash, whether
necessary to feed one's family. The "every man for himself"
attitude in some cultures encourages this.

Corruption prone institutions

Police
According to many people corruption can only thrive in
bureaucratic societies or countries where every single matter, law
and order is under the control of corrupt government. The reality
does not authenticate just this idea. At an "elite" level, corruption
is the everywhere. Then, what developing countries are full of, is
non-elite corrupt people. Corruption is normally associated with
the government, police, legal system and other bodies that
control and allocate public resources. The police are responsible
for maintaining order and justice in a society. A police department
for instance can be compared to other governmental bodies for
simple understanding of the term. e.g.: a cop stops a car to make
a ticket, but is also willing to accept a small bribe to let it pass (or
even stop the car to get a bribe in the first place). Some drivers
will also try to bribe the cop, to avoid the ticket. Mostly the same
at all administration levels, at any given bureaucrat institution. Of
course, virtually all government regulated institutions (police,
hospitals, schools, etc) have their employee being overly
underpaid, which helps a lot to lead into this. The reason why a
policeman for example would accept a bribe to let someone go
free is that they are often underpaid and extra cash is always a
tempting prospect. The wide consensus across surveys points to
the police as being one of the most corrupt institutions in
Pakistan. According to the organization Global Integrity
appointments in the police force are often based on political
considerations. Police officers frequently have conflicts of interest
due to personal loyalties and family connections. It is also well
known that in Pakistan, influential landlords decide the
appointment of law enforcement officers in their area, with police
officers acting on their behalf. Unlawful police methods do not

solely affect poor people. Businesses also complain that they

suffer from extortion by the police, for instance in the form of
bogus traffic fines. Basically Police misconduct is a topic of great
concern worldwide. However, the causes of police corruption are
remarkably different. Understanding the unique political,
historical, legal, and economic institutions of a country is essential
in identifying the potential for police misconduct. The boundary
line between corrupt and non-corrupt activities is quite difficult to
define. A police officer who takes advantage of his power and
authority for personal and organizational gains can easily be
described as a corrupt police officer. The term police corruption
has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and
brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; and,
favoritism. Not only lower ranked officers are involved in such
malpractices, but also senior officers, and those ranked below
them are involved in organized corruption. The position is best
summed up in the words of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Home Affairs in Pakistan: Today we have a police,
which is politicized and Politically polarized. For it has become a
pawn in the hands of its masters. In Return, the policemen get
political patronage, which has become essential for there
Survival.
Historical Background:
In order to develop a practicable Anti-Corruption Strategy in
Pakistan, it is imperative to understand the phenomenon of
corruption in its historical and political context. The culture of
corruption was promoted in the colonial system of administration
by the award of lands, titles and jobs to a specific group
supporting colonial objectives as part of political bribery. In
Pakistan white-collar crime had its roots in the 1950s, starting
from settlement of refugee claims, industrial sanctions, allotment
of agricultural lands, although the mechanics of money making
giving rise to rampant corruption.

Till the Second World War, corruption was prevalent in

considerable measure amongst Revenue, Police, Excise and Public
Works Department officials, particularly of the lower grades while
the higher ranks were comparatively free from this evil. By the
time of Independence in 1947 increase of corruption by public
officials became much noticeable.The role of money in politics in
Pakistan has brought in a new class of wealthy businessmen
turned politicians who have constantly strived for saving their
business interest over the national economic advantage. Some of
the main reasons for post independence Corruption that lead to
the of current causes of coruption are:a) Land Awards
Settlement of millions of homeless through allotment of lands
resorting to corruption. Fake claims were approved for the
allottees.
b) Bloated Public Sector
Nationalization Programme in the 1970s being a poor economic
option brought a new form of nepotism of corruption. Bureaucracy
inducted into the public corporate sector for collusive mode of
corruption both at individual and organizational level.
c) Private Sector Cooperatives
In the decade of 70s, 80s and even upto 90s a large sum of the
public was misappropriated by private sector Cooperatives,
Housing & Finance Corporations. As a result public money to the
tune of Rs. 13 - 14 billions went into the accounts of these
Corporations.
d) Drug Money

Pakistan saw the entry of drug money in the early 80s inducing
corruption and strengthening the underground economy.
e) Foreign Aid and Investment
The utilization of foreign funds was not properly perceived. The
public sector utilization of foreign funding was not done prudently
thus scaring away investments as well as tying up the country in
heavy foreign debts.

g) Informal structure of National Economy

An informal and undocumented economy coupled with lax
procedures provided considerable opportunities to the business
community for un-fair practices.
h) Institutional Erosion
The institutions of legislative, executive and judiciary failed to
establish a system of check and balances. Institutional failure is
one of the main causes of corruption in Pakistan.
The Way Forward:
Now in order to combat them few measures need to be taken are
as follows
Strengthening of Institutions
Supremacy of Law
Prevalence of code of conduct
Proper check and balance on all officials as well as citizens
Increase in salaries and incentives

 Restoration of judiciary on free basis

Hiring of new employees on merit rather than beneficiaries
Proper awareness campaigns need to be formed
There should be proper ehtesaab for everyone who completes
tenure of governance
Defect positions should be reordered making it into and effect
position
Conclusion: