Thaindian News

Karachi, Nov 17 (IANS) Pakistan has slipped five places to be ranked 42nd among the world’s most corrupt countries against 47th last year, Transparency International said in its report released Tuesday.
Pakistan’s 2009 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score is 2.4, ranking it at 42, TI Pakistan chief Adil Gilani said while releasing the report here.

Against this, Bangladesh has marginally improved its position also to be ranked 42nd against 38th last year.

India has been ranked at 84.

According to the Transparency International ranking, the higher the position of a country on the list, the better its integrity account and lesser corruption.

Highest scorers in the 2009 CPI are New Zealand at 9.4, Denmark at 9.3, Singapore and Sweden tied at 9.2 and Switzerland at 9.0, reflecting political stability and long-established conflict of interest regulations.

According to Gilani, anti-corruption efforts in Pakistan had taken a 180 degree turn since then president Pervez Musharraf issued

the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in October 2007.

The NRO, which granted immunity to politicians, military officers and bureaucrats charged with corruption, enabled the return home from exile of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007. Another beneficiary of the NRO was her widower Asif Ali Zardari, who is now the president of Pakistan.

Benazir Bhutto and her husband Zardari went into self-exile following Bhutto’s defeat in parliamentary eletions and corruption charges against Zardari during arch rival Nawaz Sharif’s second stint as the prime minister.

The Supreme Court nullified the NRO in July this year and tossed the ball to parliament, where the opposition bitterly criticised the ordinance and prevented it from being passed.