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Pakistan ranks 34 in most corrupt countries: Transparency International

KARACHI: The Transparency International (TI) has released annual Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday. Pakistan ranked 34 in most corrupted countries, Aaj News reported.

Nearly three-quarters of the 178 countries in TI's annual survey scored worse than average on the scale, which ranges from zero (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low le-vels of corruption).

Pakistan was at number 42 in 2009 but in recent year Pakistan ranked 34 with score 2.3 in corrupt countries.

Govt plans $7.72 billion for 14 flood-hit sectors

ISLAMABAD: The National Oversight Disaster Management Council has (NODMC) worked out reconstruction plan needs of $7.724 bil-lion for 14 identified sectors in the flood-hit areas, according to an official document of the Planning Commission on Tuesday.

This multibillion reconstruction needs would be financed by do-nors and the government of Pakistan, respectively through cash transfer, reconstruction and repair needs, the document revealed.

Reconstruction of flood-hit areas: World Bank, ADB still claim they’ve to provide $3 billion

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are still claiming on their websites that they will provide funds amounting to $3 billion for reconstruction of flood-hit areas de-spite the fact that Pakistan has formally rejected their loan offers that are not additional to what was already committed under the three-year country strategy programme.

Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar announced in a press conference on Thursday that Pakistan had rejected offers of the ADB and the World Bank to extend loans by diverting funds al-ready committed for ongoing projects. She said the government would accept fresh loans only for reconstruction of flood-hit areas.

Another NRO-hit Baboo reappointed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who had to retreat on the appointment of an NRO beneficiary Adnan Khawaja as MD OGDC, has reinstated another NRO beneficiary, despite strong opposition by the interior ministry.

A BS 18 FIA official Sajjad Haider, considered close to influential figures, has now been taken back in the government service. When contacted, PM’s Principal Secretary Nargis Sethi confirmed the reinstatement but evaded the question on how an NRO bene-ficiary could be reinstated, saying she would have to check the record.

Govt refuses WB, ADB loan

ISLAMABAD: In a rare display of defiant courage, the country’s fi-nancial managers have turned down a $2 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and another $1 billion loan from the World Bank (WB), which according to sources stunned the ADB in particular as it had already gone ahead with the stage of executive review having taken Islamabad’s erstwhile yes-sir ap-proach for granted.