A moment to celebrate...
CORRUPTION is a real enemy of development of any country. The causes and effects of corruption, and how to combat corruption, are issues that are increasingly on the national and international agendas of politicians and policymakers.
Moreover, I have increasingly grown fond of knowing the true meaning of corruption. It is the abuse of entrusted power for private gains. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost according to Transparency International. In other words, corruption is a form of dishonest or unethical conduct of an individual entrusted with a power or may be holding any authority or position just for the attainment of personal gains whereas trans- parency means shedding light on shady deals, weak enforcement of rules and illicit practices that undermine good governments, ethical businesses and society at large.
There are various reasons like personal, cultural, institutional and organizational that are applicable on a greater or lesser scale to different cultural and geographical environments causing corruption. Corruption occurs because it is human nature to take the easy way out and to gain personal benefit from whatever means possible. Both "nature" (Biological) and "nurture" (psychological) factors have a part in corruption. One of the major causes of corruption is rising poverty and unemployment that seeks roots in our society & on later stage these causes turned into social evils such as drugs addiction, bribery, street crimes, terrorism etc.
Since 1995, "Transparency International" has been releasing Corruption Perception Index of the countries that it surveys. It is a moment of immense pleasure for all the Pakistanis that Pakistan has jumped from 50th position to 53rd on Berlin-based Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, 2015. According to which PAKISTAN fares better than all SAARC states namely India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Pakistan is the country that improved its CPI score whereas the rest either scored the same or scored less. Pakistan has left developed country such as China behind in the improvement. Never in the history of the country, did Pakistan score that well. It is the result of zero tolerance for corruption at the top level that our motherland has come out of top 50 most corrupt countries.
It is quite encouraging fact that in 2012 before the PML-N Government took over; Pakistan scored 27/100 and was ranked at 36th position from the bottom. From 2013 to 2015, there has been an addition of one point to the country's score on CPI, which means that the country was ranked 49th in 2013, 50th in 2014 and 53rd in 2015. Though it is not an enviable position but represents a transformation.
In Transparency International's CPI 2015, Pakistan is a reflection of transparency and compliance with the rules and regulations in the CPEC and other mega projects that has been implemented by the PML (N) government. The improved ranking is also a slap on the faces of those who are in the habit of making false accusations. CPI 2015 has proved them all wrong. By the grace of God and firm commitment of the PML-N leadership, Pakistan is proud of this improvement and intends to continue it in the future as well.
In order to combat this issue, a longterm strategy needs to be evolved. A few measures need to be taken like 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, inde- pendence of judiciary for prompt dispensation of justice, hiring of new employees on merit rather than nepotism, and proper awareness campaigns also need to be taken. There should be proper system that will hold all accountable under the rule of law. Defect positions should be reordered making it into and effective positions.
Alhamdulillah, Pakistan is proud to have high level of media freedom, access to information, high level of integrity among the people in power, and independent judiciary. The journey towards prosperity and good governance has already begun in the right direction. Our leadership is committed to eradicate the menace like corruption. It is very welcoming news for the people of the land of pure and I hope to witness more days like today in the future as well. Let us just all hope for a better Pakistan, Pakistan that Quaid-eAzam dreamt of. Rightly put in words by Joe Biden, Vice President of USA.