Islamabad:
The International Monetary Fund has sent a mission to Pakistan to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of governance and corruption, including a review of the process of appointing judges, judicial integrity and its independence.
The first of the detailed mission of its kind, the diagnosis evaluation of Pakistan governance and corruption began its work on Thursday. The year will conclude on February 14, the government and diplomatic sources said to Express PAkGazette.
During his stay in Pakistan, the IMF team will meet with the representatives of at least 19 government ministries, departments and state bodies, even with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The mission approach remains in the rule of law, anti -corruption, financial supervision, the eradication of interest acquired well rooted in the state governance structure and the fight against money laundering, according to sources.
The mission had been planned in September last year, but arrived at a critical moment when the judges of the Superior Court of Islamabad and the Supreme Court of Pakistan have expressed concerns about the process of appointing the judges in the superior judiciary.
The 26th constitutional amendment has brought fundamental changes in the process of appointing the judges, giving politicians a role in the selection process.
The sources said the mission will hold a meeting with the Judicial Commission next week and discuss the process of appointing judges. He also plans to meet with the Supreme Court of Pakistan to make an evaluation of judicial integrity and independence, the two areas that are critical.
The mission will end its evaluation and its report will be published in July 2025. According to the $ 7 billion agreement, Pakistan is obliged to publish the full report of the diagnosis of governance and corruption in July.
Pakistan has also committed the IMF that with the support of the development of the ability of the global lender, “it will undertake a diagnosis evaluation of governance and corruption to analyze the critical vulnerabilities of governance and corruption and identify priority structural reforms that advance.”
The IMF will meet with the National Office of Responsibility to discuss the National Anti -Corruption Strategy, the nature and severity of corruption, the application of the Anti -Corruption Law, including research and prosecution of money laundering.
“Effective governance frameworks and independent anti -corruption institutions are critical to overcome the poor policy formulation, mitigate the undue influence of the interests created and maintain structural reforms with doubt,” according to the IMF.
The IMF said that the vulnerabilities and structural challenges of Pakistan are still formidable. A difficult business environment, weak governance and a huge role of state investment, which remains very low compared to colleagues.
The IMF is also meeting with the Financial Monitoring Unit to carry out an evaluation of suspicious transactions that report the obligated entities, the dissemination of financial intelligence, resources and ability to address these challenges.
Another main focus of the mission is the money laundering product of domestic corruption and if Pakistan has an effective risk mitigation strategy and an action plan to master this challenge.
The mission will meet with the national authority against money laundering and the combination of financing of the terrorism authority. The sources said the discussion approach will be the money laundering product of domestic corruption.
A crucial meeting will be held with the Ministry of Law and Justice to make an evaluation of the State of the Rule of Law. The IMF will make an evaluation of the need for any legal reform to guarantee the rule of law through the independence of the Judiciary, the protection of property rights and the application of contracts.
The mission will have multiple meetings with the State Bank of Pakistan, some of them have already taken place this week, fountains said. The Central Bank has given an overview of the key challenges and reform priorities related to the governance and anti -corruption of SBP, the banking sector and its supervision.
The legal framework and the governance agreements of the Central Bank have also been discussed and more discussions will be carried out on current laws and any need to amend them to improve governance.
The mission will carry out the review of the organization of the Banking Policy Group, the regulatory decision making; Regulatory framework, even for governance related issues; and the regulatory framework for state banks.
It is often considered that the Central Bank protects the interests of commercial banks at the expense of depositors and the economy. He has not taken effective and significant actions against commercial banks for their participation in a money laundering scam through the importation of solar panels. The banks were not punished two years ago when they manipulated the price of the US currency against the rupee.
The IMF mission will also request an informative session on bank supervision, organization, resources, information technology systems, legal protection for supervisors and supervision decision making. It will review the supervision framework for corporate governance and transactions with related parties and other government -related issues; Supervision of state banks.
Islamic banking and money laundering and the combination of terrorism financing, the banking payment system, the government agreement and the banks and the problem of the unique treasure account will also be under the review, the sources said.
The IMF will have multiple meetings with the FBR with a main approach in the use of databases of asset statements, monitoring of money laundering and preventive measures by designated non -financial companies and professions (DNFBP). The IMF will review the risks of governance in the formulation and implementation of fiscal policies.
A meeting will be held with the Federal Land Commission to evaluate the governance parameters in land management.
He has scheduled meetings with the Ministry of Climate Change, the Ministry of Housing to ensure that property rights are protected and with the Pakistan Stock Exchange and Securities Commission. The SECP meetings will focus on transparency related to the beneficial property for companies and their supervision and preventive measures against money laundering by non -bank financial institutions.
The IMF will meet with the Department of the General Auditor of Pakistan, the establishment division to review its anti -corruption structure for the Bureaucrats Assets Declaration System and with the National Disaster Management Authority for Climate Adaptation Policies and Projects.
The IMF will meet with the Privatization Commission to evaluate the SOES and several funds administered.
Multiple meetings are also planned with the Ministry of Finance to have an overview of the preparation and execution of the budget and current reforms; General description of treasure functions that include budget, accounting, TSA, cash management and debt management.
The Ministry of Planning meeting will focus on public investment management, the Public Sector Development Program and the Public Private Association Agreements
A meeting is also planned with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to discuss external debt, the coordination of debt management with the Ministry of Finance, including the collection and publication of debt data.
