'$94 bn graft mars Gilani government'

Philadelphia Herald (IANS) Sunday 5th February, 2012

Pakistan has lost Rs.8,500 billion ($94 billion) in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance during the rule of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, graft watchdog Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) has said.

TIP advisor Adil Gillani told The News that the impact of corruption is far more serious than what was believed. He said Pakistan will not need money from the outside world if the government can effectively check corruption.

The current Pakistani government that came to power in 2008 has been the worst in terms of corruption. Past records of corruption were broken and the country rose in the ranks of the most corrupt nations, the paper noted.

The National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency, instead of checking corruption, have been siding with the corrupt. These institutions have been helping the corrupt to get off the hook by distorting the evidence in favour of the high and the mighty, the TIP representative alleged.

Transparency International is headquartered in Berlin.