Deep cracks in Pakistan’s whistleblower safeguards have been laid bare in a hard-hitting report, describing the system as structurally deficient and purely symbolic. It spotlights enduring lapses in accountability that plague politics, procurement, and oversight bodies.
Pakistan’s 135th ranking in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index out of 180 countries paints a grim corruption picture. Saqib Barjis, in The News International, warns that without genuine transparency, societies breed corruption and silence.
Whistleblowing demands institutional priority, but Pakistan’s 2019 law falters on enforcement, secure anonymity, and reprisal shields. UNCAC-compliant reforms are urgently needed, alongside real enforcement will.
Laws against graft exist, but implementation lags due to leadership indifference. The nation faces institutional decay, public disillusionment, and a meritocracy meltdown driving professionals abroad.
‘It’s not abandonment; it’s Pakistan abandoning competence,’ Barjis contends. Protecting exposers builds reform foundations.
Accountability magnets pull in investment and talent; rejection breeds fragility. Prioritize whistleblowers to protect the future; punish them, and modernity slips away.
This report serves as a wake-up call: robust protections are foundational to reversing corruption’s tide and restoring national vitality.