In the long term, Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to “consider establishing a centralised authority” that would collect, digitise and publish asset declarations of senior public officials. (File Photo) Pakistan Friday agreed to introduce major reforms to its asset declaration system, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised grave concerns about the country’s anti-corruption framework, Dawn reported.
The IMF particularly questioned the effectiveness of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), with its Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) describing NAB as a “political compromise,” Dawn noted. It also called for stronger and more transparent mechanisms to prevent high-level corruption.
Under the IMF’s short-term action plan, Pakistan will start publishing the asset declarations of high-level federal civil servants in 2026. The GCDA report also suggests that the country must introduce “risk-based verification of asset declarations” to ensure stronger checks and improve integrity standards across government institutions.
Plan for a centralised authority
In the long term, Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to “consider establishing a centralised authority” that would collect, digitise and publish asset declarations of senior public officials. This authority would also be responsible for risk-based verification. However, Dawn reported that this plan may remain uncertain once the IMF programme concludes, raising doubts about whether it will be fully implemented.
The IMF has also recommended several reforms to improve NAB’s independence and its ability to investigate high-level corruption. Medium-term steps include changes to the appointment procedure of the NAB chairman, enhanced investigative capabilities and stronger internal accountability mechanisms.
According to the GCDA, the current method of selecting the NAB chief, based on an “agreement between the administration and opposition”, encourages “political compromises rather than a merit-based, open and competitive selection process.”
Weak disciplinary action and limited prosecutions
The GCDA highlighted the weaknesses in disciplinary actions taken against corrupt officials, particularly in revenue-related departments. Investigative powers continue to remain limited, often restricted to interviews or checking asset declarations.
Penalties range from withholding promotions to dismissal, but the IMF notes they “do not include a proposal for criminal prosecution.” The report added that although criminal prosecution is legally possible, it “occurs only occasionally.”
At the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), officials were unable to provide recent data on criminal prosecutions. Warning that prosecution is an essential deterrent, the IMF said its “limited application in practice” and the “de facto exclusion of high-ranked staff” reduces its impact.
The report also raised concerns about provincial anti-corruption bodies, which must seek approval from top provincial authorities before starting the investigations. In Pakistan’s system of “patronage politics,” the IMF said this requirement “creates risks that corruption investigations will not prosper against allies or supporters of the provincial governors.”
Limited access to key databases, including tax records and bank account information, further weakens the investigations.
The IMF review described Pakistan’s asset declaration system as “fragmented,” with separate rules for government officials, public office-holders, the armed forces and the judiciary. Most declarations are also not made public.
