Talking to journalists earlier this week after presiding over a meeting, at the FIA headquarters, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that "the government has taken corruption as terrorism and we'll fight it on the war footing". He vowed to deliver results in the next two months, warning "corrupt officials", wherever they might be, whether in Wapda, FIA, Immigration Department, Nadra or CDA, to mend their ways.
"After November 7, the government will start across the board covert action," he declared. Apparently, these assertions were aimed at mitigating the effect of the recent Transparency International report, which placed Pakistan eight rungs higher on the corruption ladder than last year (Pakistan is up from 42nd position to 34th this year in the world's most corrupt countries rating). But it would convince no one. The terrorism analogy, in any case, is irrelevant.
Although the intention to fight terrorism is not in doubt, so far as results are concerned, there is no good reason for the Interior Minister to pat himself on the back. Terrorists have actually been expanding their range of targets to include religious gatherings and Sufi shrines. The fight against terrorism certainly cannot be seen as a benchmark of success.
If at all the government has a plan to combat endemic corruption it should have been announced by the Prime Minister rather than the Interior Minister. Corruption cannot be eliminated, even reduced, through policing alone. And there is no known magic wand that can make it disappear in two months time. It is not difficult to foresee what is going to happen.
The 'covert' agents will catch some people working in junior positions - a common practice in the past - and claim credit for the government's anti-corruption campaign. Such tactics though cannot work anymore. The people are much more aware and the media vigilant about the issues at hand. The ministers should think before challenging the public's ability to differentiate between sincerity and pretense.
The malaise of corruption is rampant from top to bottom. Punishing a few junior level government functionaries is of no use. An effective system of accountability is required. The principle of across the board accountability Rehman Malik mentioned while announcing his anti-corruption drive, makes little sense if it is to be restricted to some government departments he named in his press talk.
Indeed, any worthwhile anti-corruption campaign must include bureaucracy, but it must also cover misuse of power by politicians, generals, judges and others. And to ensure things work properly the accountability process needs to be supported by an effective law. Unfortunately, the Accountability Bill has remained stuck in Parliament because of the government desire to dilute some of its clauses.
The Law Ministry has been voicing concern about its short-term applicability. Needless to say, a good accountability law must not be time-specific. Last month, the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Parliamentary Affairs approved the proposed Accountability Bill, 2010, that would be applicable to all public office holders, serving or retired. That is what should be the focus of governmental attention rather than making cosmetic attempts to eradicate corruption - unless the Interior Minister had intended to deflect attention from that very bill.
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