Poor rating on the state of democracy and corruption

Two recent back-to-back reports for the year 2019 issued by the highly respected The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Transparency International (TI) on the state of global democracy and corruption respectively, show Pakistan in an unenviable light. The EIU index using five criteria - electoral processes, pluralism, government functioning, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties - places Pakistan on 107th spot among 167 countries. This is a slightly better ranking than the112th in 2017, whilst the 'world's biggest democracy', India, has fallen from 41st to 51st place on the democracy index, the primary cause of its regression, as noted by EIU, being "an erosion of civil liberties in the country."

In the overall comparative perspective, Pakistan fares pretty badly. Notably, the EIU classifies countries in four categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. Embarrassingly for this country, it falls in the category of 'hybrid regimes' alongside countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Bhutan. Considering that for nearly half of its existence Pakistan has been under military rule- the latest one ended a little over a decade ago- it can be argued that it takes time to build democracy. Recent trends and developments, however, indicate little progress in that direction. Civil liberties remain weak as freedom of expression and belief, rule of law, and fundamental rights continue to be threatened by state and non-state entities. And the media face all sorts of arm-twisting methods in the form of advisories and schemes at control through special media courts, and centralization of public sector advertisements as a way of rewarding compliance and punishing dissent.

One of the constant refrains in Prime Minister Imran Khan's statements, before and after assumption of power, has been elimination of corruption. But so far the accountability process seems to be a selective exercise targeted at political opponents. Many prominent opposition leaders confronting corruption charges are either in jail or out on bail. Yet financial corruption is alive and well. Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perception Index ranks Pakistan 120th among 180 countries as against its 117th position in 2018 - a downslide by three places. Which indicates people in high places still indulge in corrupt practices. Where the weaknesses lie are indentified by that global civil society organization in its recommendations that include managing conflict of interest, regulating lobbying activities, tackling preferential treatment, enforcing checks and balances, empowering citizens, and ensuring electoral integrity. What the EIU and TI are saying about the state of democracy and corruption in this country should impel some introspection. The PTI government needs to pay heed to them, and foster integrity of the political system it presides over.