State Owned Enterprises: Can we pull them out of the black hole?

Just last year, Transparency International rated Pakistan as the 34th most corrupt nation in the world. Corruption has spread like a wild fire across the country consuming all public and private sectors. Recently, a corruption case against Nawaz Sharif was dismissed where it was alleged that he allotted land to his friends. Supreme Court asked Pakistan Railways to report the names of people involved in selling scrap at throwaway prices and buying overpriced bulbs to the National Accountability Bureau. Concerns were voiced by the Chief Justice of Pakistan over non-transparency in the rental power projects, which if proven true would signal the end of these projects. FIA interrogated PM Gillani’s son, Abdul Qadir, in a Haj corruption case where the financing of a bullet proof jeep was dubious. Defense Ministry allegedly found 88 armed officials involved in corruption while the Public Accounts Committee declared three top army generals responsible for the Rs1.8 billion losses in the National Logistics Cell scam. Transparency International raised allegations about bribery involved in the procurement of 2 aircrafts on lease for Haj operations. Federal Bureau Revenue recovered Rs 7.39 billion from energy companies which were concealing payable liability for the past few years. Chaudhry Nisar’s resignation from the Public Accounts Committee over the controversial appointment of the new Attorney General of Pakistan made us realize that even the agencies created to counter corruption were not free from this disease. On the international front, 3 players from our national cricket team were found guilty of spot-fixing during the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan last August.

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