By: Sidra Akhlaq<\/p>\n
Corruption, defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private benefit, is unfortunately endemic in Pakistan. Even the public sector
\nis not immune from this. Its spread is enormous. It has reached every organ of the state beyond the executive, it has put its claws on
\nthe judiciary and legislature even. It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole body of the state of Pakistan is suffering from this
\nmalaise and wailing under its weight.Corruption manifests itself in various forms in Pakistan, including widespread financial and
\npolitical corruption, nepotism, and misuse of power. Both petty and grand corruptions are prevalent in the country. Corruption clouds
\nalmost all tiers of government; it is all pervasive and deeply entrenched. \u201cThe level of corruption in the society ultimately depends on
\nthe values and morals of that society\u201d (Vittal and Mahalingam, 2004:237). Over the period, acceptability of corruption has rather
\nincreased in society, and there is little evidence that people feel guilty about their own role in corruption. The scale of corruption is
\nhighest in development projects and procurement (including defence and public sector corporations) and bank loan write-offs.
\nWhereas mega corruption is mainly in development projects, bank loans, and procurements, which rock the foundation of the
\neconomy, the common man is more interested in the petty and middle-level corruption that he encounters in the daily dealings in the
\ngovernment offices. The roots of corruption in Pakistan date back to the colonial period, when the Britishers rewarded lands and titles
\nto those who were their loyalists, leading to nepotism and corruption.
\nTwo major crises played a fundamental role in the genesis of corruption in this part of the world; the spiral in the defence-related
\npurchases during and after World War II and allotment of evacuee property after the partition of the Indian subcontinent (UNDP,
\n2002:11). This was followed by industrial and trade licensing and patronage schemes like bonus vouchers and route permits in the
\n1950s and 1960s. The nationalisation policy of the 1970s created new opportunities for corruption and gave birth to a new breed of
\ncorrupt government officers. The decade of the 1980s witnessed the surge of corruption in religious and business circles. Pakistan has
\nsuffered from pervasive corruption since its foundation. It deals with an unstable political atmosphere and unsustainable economic
\ndevelopment due to its fragile institutional setting. The predominance of military power that does not hesitate to overrule any
\ngovernment when it faces a potential threat to its economic-profit channels plays an important role in institutional fragility. Moreover,
\nincompetent civilian rules and the British heritage comprise a vicious cycle that is hard to break. An anaemic institutional
\nenvironment struggles within an embedded cultural structure exacerbated by corruption. Pakistan is generally included in most
\ndiscussions of \u2018failing states\u2019 that pose the maximum danger to global security, with the rise of Islamic militancy being the most
\ncommonly cited reason for the \u2018failure\u2019. However, Islamic militancy is a result of impending state failure, not a cause of it. This
\narticle argues that the state’s inability, caused by decades of systemic corruption, to provide any appreciable level of publicly defined
\npublic goods or services is responsible for the delegitimisation of the state and its inability to maintain law and order in the cities or
\nsuppress Islamist insurgents in the rest of the country. According to the Transparency International corruption perception index, there
\nare three types of corruption, for instance: grand corruption, medium corruption, and piety corruption. In grand corruption,
\ngovernment officials are directly or indirectly convoluted in it. In medium corruption, government and private institutions use their
\nlinks for personal incentives, while in piety corruption, individuals are involved to use their power for personal benefits. This study
\ndeals with grand corruption, where government is directly or indirectly convoluted in it. The history of Pakistan is associated with the
\nmisuse of public powers for individual interests. In Pakistan, approximately all public sectors are involved in misappropriation for
\npersonal benefits. The effect of corruption is multiple, and its root became deep in the social, cultural, political, and economic history
\nof Pakistan. It spread like a viral disease not only in the public sector but in the private sector. The judiciary institutions of Pakistan
\nare also not saved from this social sickness. Now, it became a social behaviour in any institution to take bribes.
\nCorruption in Pakistan, defined as the misuse of entrusted power for personal gain, is pervasive across all sectors of government and
\nsociety. This entrenched issue has historical roots, tracing back to colonial practices that fostered nepotism and favoritism. Over time,
\ncorruption has evolved, manifesting in both grand and petty forms, with significant implications for the nation’s governance and
\ndevelopment. Key drivers include the aftermath of significant crises like the partition and defence procurement during World War II, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Sidra Akhlaq Corruption, defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private benefit, is unfortunately endemic in Pakistan. Even the public sector is not immune from this. Its spread is enormous. It has reached every organ of the state beyond the executive, it has put its claws on the judiciary and legislature even. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13480],"class_list":{"0":"post-437775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-sidra-akhlaq"},"yoast_head":"\n