Transparency International, Berlin, has expressed "growing concern regarding the ability of their local chapter, TI Pakistan, to operate freely and regarding the recent intimidating statements against its chairman, Adil Gilani".
Huguette Labelle, Chair, Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption, in a letter sent on November 4 to Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, said that he was writing on behalf of the international movement of Transparency International as its Chairperson that "TI is concerned about what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign of vilification against TI Pakistan, which has performed its role courageously as it works in the interest of Pakistani people."
Recent media reports indicate that parliamentarians and public officials have accused Transparency International of undermining the country's sovereignty and democracy through the score of Pakistan in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2010, released on October 26, he said.
Labelle has pointed out in his letter that the index is a statistical aggregation by Transparency International Secretariat, Berlin, of surveys carried out by respected independent international sources including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Economist Intelligence Unit of London and the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. A specific team at Transparency International in Berlin is in charge of the statistical compilation but has nothing to do with the scoring provided by the sources.
No chapter in TI - including TI Pakistan - is part of or has any influence on this work, nor do any data or information generated TI Pakistan contribute to the CPI.
The reported threats against. and intimidation of, anti-corruption activists at TI Pakistan, who are engaged in promoting good governance, should be seen as a violation of Pakistan's obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption, to which it is a party, and of international human rights law, and in particular to the UN International Covenant on civil and political rights, signed and ratified by Pakistan.
He urged him as President to send a clear signal to all those in authority in Pakistan to act in accordance with "your country's laws by guaranteeing the safety of TI Pakistan members and management, and creating conditions for the free participation of civil society in public debates on governance and transparency.
Copies of the letter have been sent to: Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, Chief of Army Staff, Mumtaz Alam Gilani, Minister of Human Rights, Rehman Malik, Minister of Interior, Shamsuddin, Co-ordinator, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and Nisar Ali Khan, Chairman of Public Accounts Committee.