LAHORE, Jan 22: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) has announced its “anti-corruption policy” stated to be commissioned by party chairman Imran Khan.

The party pledges to make the fight against corruption top priority when voted to power in the elections this year. The policy is based on a report by Dr Azeem Ibrahim, an international scholar, titled “Legal Structures to Address the Problem of Corruption in Pakistan”.

The 150-page report contains examples of how Pakistan can address the three main issues of transparency, defining corruption and protection of whistleblowers.

It provides extensive examples from other countries emerging from authoritarian rule outlining states benefiting from careful consideration of best practices in other administrations.

Much of the country’s legislation regarding anti-corruption dates back to 1860 in laws inherited from the colonial era. Generally, there are multiple laws which overlap, have gaps or even worse have been drafted to protect particular interest groups.

The report also contains analyses of legislation elsewhere that might be applicable to Pakistan. Example are given of model legislation from the UN Convention Against Corruption, EU guidelines on corporate disclosure and compares legislation from countries as diverse as Turkey, Poland, Mexico, Azerbaijan, India and New Zealand.

The report says that any effective approach to combating corruption requires a legal framework, administrative resources, political will and the engagement of civil society.