CORRUPTION in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. With every passing day it is growing in magnitude and strength. No institution, no organisation, no government department and agency is free from corruption.

However, all Pakistanis are not corrupt. As a matter of fact, majority of them are honest, though they have been marginalised in their own country.

Corruption empowers individuals and the corrupt are the most powerful in this country.

Though corruption was not as widespread 40 years ago, the corrupt were as powerful as at this point in time.

Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, an interior minister, once said in an interview: if anybody raises his voice against the corrupt mafia, he will be killed. This interview should be available in the PTV archives.

The statement of a politician of integrity explains why no Anna Hazare stands up against corrupt mafias in Pakistan.

Pakistan has become a hub of corruption, mismanagement and bad governance.

ASGHAR MAHMOOD Former Additional Inspector-General of Police Islamabad