Independent Report
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau on Tuesday disputed the International Monetary Fund’s recent assessment of corruption risks in the country, calling the report “perception-driven” and insisting graft has declined by up to 25 percent over the past two years.
The IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment published last month highlighted institutional weaknesses and noted that NAB secured only 31 convictions between 2022 and 2024, despite recovering Rs5.31 trillion in 2023–24.
A senior NAB official, speaking anonymously, said the findings failed to account for extensive reforms and collaborative recovery drives that helped retrieve 4.53 million acres of state land. He said most recoveries stemmed from mismanagement cases dating back decades rather than criminal corruption alone.
The bureau said all recoveries go directly to the national treasury and rejected IMF concerns about its “voluntary return” mechanism, stressing that each case is approved by a NAB court.
According to NAB, reforms rolled out since 2022 include stronger oversight, restrictions on anonymous complaints, and new mechanisms to shield businessmen and government officials from harassment. The bureau said it recovered Rs8.4 trillion from March 2023 to October 2025 — far higher than the cumulative recoveries of the previous 23 years.
Officials said the IMF report would have been “far more credible” had the lender engaged directly with Pakistani authorities before publication.
