ISLAMABAD: The government has labelled the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCD) report an indictment of both the government and parliament, informing a parliamentary panel that an action plan to combat corruption will be prepared by the Fund’s deadline of December 3.
The Senate and National Assembly standing committees on finance held separate meetings at the Parliament House on Wednesday, with both panels scrutinising the GCD report. Initially, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance summoned Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to brief the panel on the IMF’s GCD. However, the minister was absent, being occupied with another meeting.
Later, Aurangzeb appeared before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, which met under the chairmanship of Syed Naveed Qamar. He briefed the panel on 15 major IMF recommendations covering governance, taxation, corruption, regulatory affairs and the rule of law. The government will prepare an action plan by 31 December 2025 to implement these 15 major IMF recommendations on a short-term (6 months), medium-term (18 months) and long-term (36 months) basis.
In the Senate panel meeting, Senator Abdul Qadir stated, “The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has set a target of bringing in $60 billion in foreign investment but has secured only $2 billion so far. The MoUs were signed without any interaction with businesses.”
Senator Dilawar Khan cited two examples. First, an FBR officer in Lahore quarrelled over corruption money and opened fire. The FIA summoned former FBR Member Operations Mir Badshah Wazir, but the Board granted him two charges — Member Legal and Policy. Second, he stated that the FBR released goods despite the sealing of godowns in Swabi. He further questioned why the minimum price of a cigarette packet was increased from Rs180 to Rs250 to benefit a specific firm, allowing them to earn a profit of Rs400 billion. Senator Abdul Qadir also gave examples of how the governance mechanism is causing huge losses to the national exchequer.
In the afternoon, the NA panel held its meeting, where Finance Minister Aurangzeb and Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal briefed the committee on the GCD. The minister explained that the government had requested this Technical Assistance report, similar to those undertaken by 20 other countries. Some OECD countries, including the UK and USA, have also volunteered for such GCD reports. He stated that the IMF report is part of structural reforms and acknowledged the progress made by Islamabad on various fronts.
When NA panel chairman Syed Naveed Qamar questioned why the GCD report was delayed by a few months, the minister replied that the process involved responses from 30 different departments, which took time. However, the government ultimately allowed the report’s publication.
In a written reply, the Ministry of Finance stated that the GCD report was published on its website after the prime minister’s approval. The report focuses on seven areas: the nature and severity of corruption; fiscal governance (revenue mobilisation, revenue administration and public finance management); market regulations and financial sector oversight; anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism; and the rule of law and anti-corruption policies.
The finance secretary informed the committee that the asset declarations of civil servants would be uploaded by next year.
The NA panel also discussed amendments to Section 134A related to Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) cases and the appointment of its chairman and members. PPP MNA Ali Qasim Gillani raised the issue of higher taxation on the import of cellular phones, stating a need for rationalisation. The NA panel sought a detailed reply from the FBR and PTA and will take up the issue in its next meeting.
