- Title: PAKISTAN: Interior Minister Rehman Malik launches an anti-graft campaign
- Date: 1st November 2010
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (OCTOBER 31, 2010) (REUTERS) PAKISTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER REHMAN MALIK ARRIVING FOR MEETING VARIOUS OF MALIK HOLDING MEETING WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS MALIK TALKING AT MEETING MALIK ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER REHMAN MALIK SAYING: "We will have zero tolerance, and the government will take it as corruption terrorism, and we will fight it like war footings." JOURNALISTS LISTENING ARMED SECURITY GUARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER REHMAN MALIK SAYING: "We give time to the head of departments, those who are dealing with public, directly or indirectly." MALIK LEAVING AFTER NEWS CONFERENCE MALIK'S CAR ESCORTED BY SECURITY LEAVING
- Embargoed: 16th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA30FRD3VVS4WHX5L6FXTECVK1S
- Story Text: Pakistan launches an anti-graft campaign in a bid to shed its reputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Pakistan, ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, announced the launch of an anti-graft campaign on Sunday (October 31) and said it would turn the country around within a couple of months.
Pakistan's economy has always relied heavily on aid from foreign donors who express concern over the lack of transparency in the South Asian country, especially when providing relief from devastating summer floods that caused 9.7 billion USD in damage.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said agents would be deployed in government offices to monitor corruption when the drive starts next week.
"We will have zero tolerance, and the government will take it as corruption terrorism, and we will fight it like war footings," he said, adding the results of the drive would be seen in the next two months.
"We give time to the head of departments, those who are dealing with public, directly or indirectly," he added.
The government of President Asif Ali Zardari has been under fire after the Supreme Court in December threw out a controversial amnesty law that gave protection to him and some of his close aides from prosecution on corruption charges.
Pakistan ranks 143 on a list of 178 issued by Transparency International on its 2010 corruption perceptions index. At the top are Singapore, Denmark and New Zealand. At the bottom is Somalia.
Transparency International in Pakistan said it welcomed the government's initiative. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
