The TI Report 2019, ranking Pakistan 120th out of 180 countries on its corruption index, three spots down from 2018, shows that with the PTI in power, corruption is on the increase. It appears however that the party brazenly employs one set of standards for itself, and another for its opponents. PM’s Special Assistant Firdous Ashiq Awan has rejected the findings of the “managed” and “biased” report while PM’s Special Assistant Shahzad Akbar maintained that the report was based on mere perceptions rather than sold evidence. The media had pointed out the extraordinarily lavish spending incurred by PTI candidates in some of the constituencies won by the party. Finally, PTI MPs will recommend their henchmen as Ehsas programme beneficiaries, rejecting Dr Sania Nishter’s reliance on NADRA’s database to determine the deserving.

Source: Pakistan Today January 24, 2020 19:30 UTC