Corruption

Introduction:
Corruption is basically when a person in power decides to exploit his
power in making money for himself/herself. A corrupt person also accepts lots of
bribes from people, and in return, approves illegal projects. Corruption happens
because the government system is so infiltrated by people who have no morals and
who come into power just to make money. In developing countries, people suffer so
much to make money that whenever they get the chance, they exploit it to the
fullest.

Definition:
Corruption is a scourge that has badly affected the quality of
governance, state of the economy and social justice available to the people. The
word corruption is derived from the Latin word corruptus means to break. In simple
words the corruption is defined as the misuse of delegated (entrusted) power for
private/personal gains. National anti-corruption strategy (NACS) has defined the
corruption as;
A behavior on the part of the office holder in the public or private sector whereby
they improperly and unlawfully enrich themselves or those close to them or induce
others to do so, by misgiving the position in which they are placed.

Kind of corruption:
Bribery :
An officer of money or favours to influence public officer

Nepotism:
Favoritism shown by public official to relative or close friends

Fraud :
Cheating government through deceit

Embezzlement :
Stealing money or other government property

Types of corruption:
Conceptually it is a behavior which distracts a person from ethics, morality
tradition, law and civic virtues. The corruption is of various types. It is a petty,
grand or political.

Petty
The petty corruption is linked to the low salaried employees. This type of
corruption usually exists to fast track the administrative bureautic procedure and
regulations. Therefore, it is generally referred as facilitating payments. The general
perception about this kind of corruption is that people indulge in order to meet their
living expenses. Thus the need a reason is applied to this form of corruption.

Grand
The grand type of corruption is associated with high level bureaucracy.
The greed and lust for power is the main factors behind this type of corruption.

Political
The political corruption is related to politicians. They usually involve in
this type corruption in order to maintain their status quo. The expensive election
campaigns, dispense the political favor from the colleagues and to keep the subordinates happy, cooperative and loyal, and lust for power is few factors which
inspire the politicians for corruption.
Incidence of corruption:
The incidence of corruption varies in rate of existence in society. It may be rare,
widespread and systemic.

Rare:
The corruption which is not deeply rooted in the entire edifice of the
government known as rare corruption. Further, it is easy to detect and control and
the culprit can easily be punished.

 Widespread:
The corruption which is permeated in all the sphere of life is called
as widespread corruption, and it is difficult to detect and control.

Systemic:
In the case of systemic corruption, it becomes the way of life and it is
very difficult to overcome.
In Pakistan the prevalent corruption is perceived as widespread and systemic. It
has deeply ingrained in society and government at all levels.

Corruption in Islamic teaching:

Islam is the religion of high values and ethics and
strongly condemns the corruption in all its forms. Islam provides complete code of
life. It is replete with moral standards, ethics, values and norms of behavior which
facilitates the Muslims to run the daily affairs of personal, professional and business
life in more disciplined way. Islam explicitly condemns the existence of corruption in
every form i.e. bribery, unlawful hoarding and earning, extortion, embezzlement.
Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) declared that;
"Damned is the bribe giver (or corruptor)-the bribe taker (the corrupted) and he
who goes between them".
Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) said about the hoarding;
Whoever withholds cereals that may become scarce and dear is a sinner (Mishkat12:8) Furthermore, Islam lays great importance on the lawful earning. Hazrat
Muhammad (PBUH) said in this context;
Earning of lawful livelihood is a duty only next to importance to the duty (of
prayers)

Quaid-e-Azam on corruption:
Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah has strongly
condemned the presence of corruption. He avowed a strict action against such mal
practices and their doer. Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the staunch
opponent of the corruption. He advocated the policy of strict action against the
corruption doer. In this regard, he said that;
One of the biggest curses is the bribery and corruption. Thats really is a poison,
we must put it down with iron hand.

Scenario of corruption in world in general and Pakistan in particular:

The corruption
is perceived as universal. It exists in all countries i.e. developed and developing, in
all sectors i.e. public and private, autonomous or semi-autonomous as well as in
non-profit and charitable organization; however, it varies in magnitude and
frequency. In some countries it is infused in lesser scale than the other countries. In
Pakistan the corruption has become systemic on large scale. Pakistan has suffered
from this misfortune many times due to its corrupt leaders being discovered by aid
organizations and governments abroad. In a country over a period of years
particularly during 1990s many government became the victims of the rampant
corruption. In a recent report presented by Transparency International, Pakistans
corruption perception index declined to 2.3 in 2010 against 2.4 in 2009 and out of
178 counties, its ranking as most corrupt country jumped from 42 in 2009 to 34 in
2010. There are several factors responsible for the existence of prevalent corruption
in the country.

Causes of corruption:
The major factors are responsible for the pervasive
corruption in the country is the poor governance on and the dismal performance on
the part of institutions. It is a fact of matter that the very foundation of any
institution lays in the process of appointment. If such process is carried out
transparently, the institution becomes the model of efficiency and performance.
However, in Pakistan the appointments are being made on the basis of favoritism
and nepotism at a great extent. Therefore, the development and innovation in
these institutions remain stagnant, rather these become the hub of politics.
Consequently, the institutions become the burden on the countrys exchequer. In
Pakistan there are many profit-earning institutions which have been running in a
loss during many years. These include; steel Mill, Pakistan Railway, Wapda, etc.
Though the governments have made efforts for handling the corruption like

Pakistan penal code of 1960, the prevention of corruption Act of 1947, and the
National Accountability Ordinance , however, these efforts remain elusive on the
side of implementation due to absence of a political will to carry out this gigantic
task. Mr. Shoukat Ali Tarin, former Finance Minister publicly acknowledged and
pointed out about the existence of 500 billion rupee corruption in Federal Bureau of
Revenue (FBR), tax collecting institution. But the government does not seem to
take any strong measures to nip the corruption in the bud.
Other factor conducive to such a rampant corruption in a country is the meager
income of the employees. The minimum wages set by the government, and salaries
given to lower grade employees do not keep the body and soul together. The
government increases pay at once in a year, however, the prices of consumer goods
soar on the daily basis. In a recent year it is recorded that the prices rose on 18
months high. Pays and prices tend the employees to the corruption to make both
ends meet. This gap in the prices and pays engender the corruption. The presence
of corruption a country has extensively and devastating effect on society and
country.

Impact of corruption :
The existence of corruption weakened the very foundation
of society and country. The presence of corruption and corrupt practices in a society
distract a man from ethics, humanely attitude, tradition, civics and laws. It
degrades the morality of the people which leads to violence or dissension among
the people. It deteriorates the quality of governance. The corruption and corrupt
practices are indicative of breaches in the governance edifice. They pose serious
threats to the sanctity of ethical and democratic values and weaken the
administrative, social and political institutions. The economic reform in a country
demand greater transparency, accountability, free and fair competition, however,
the corruption and corrupt practices place restraint on the countrys capacity to
undertake economics reforms and make some substantial progress in the
development of a country. Corruption has also adverse impact on the private
investment, both domestic and foreign which are considered very harmful to a
developing economy. This impact on the economy lead to inflation and
unemployment in the country. The direct impact of corruption in Pakistan could be
witnessed in the rise of food commodities, which according to the Federal Bureau of
Statistics, had increased up to 120 percents in the last one year. It plays significant
role in widening the gap between the rich and poor. The pervasive corruption
cannot be eradicated in a day, however, it requires well-woven plan along with
effective implementation.

Remedial Measures :
Government is required to ensure the rule of law in a strict
sense. The law of rule means equal application of law, equal protection by law, and
equality before law. Without rule of law, the institutions get weak and become
hatcheries of corrupt practices. The government must provide the effective
mechanism for implementation of rule of law without any discrimination. The
application of rule of law in a letter and spirit requires political will to carry out such
a colossal task to eradicate the corruption. The government has already made
serious efforts to combat the scourge of corruption; however, all these efforts are in
vain due to the absence of political will. Once the people are convinced that the
government is serious about fighting the corruption, they will provide their support
in resolving the problem. A publicity campaign to create awareness among the
people on the adverse effects of corruption is indispensible to combat the
corruption. A responsible press to gather, analyze, organize and disseminate the
information is vital to create the great public awareness and to provide the impetus
for undertaking reforms to overcome the corruption.
Moreover, Islam obviously condemns the corruption and provides means and
mechanism to curb the corruption. Therefore, the corruption may be eradicated on
adherence to Islamic teaching.

Conclusion:
It is concluded that the Corruption issue is that corruption is a symptom
of deep-seated and fundamental economic, political and institutional weaknesses
and shortcomings in a country. It has severally affected the state of governance,
has shackled the economy, has distracted the man from ethics, humanely attitude,

tradition, civics and laws. To be effective, measures against corruption must

therefore address these underlying causes and not the symptoms. Government
must ensure the rule of law i.e. equal application of law, equal protection by law,
and equality before law, effective and impartial accountability. Media also plays
significant role in creating the awareness among masses and government plan to
curb the pervasive corruption with an iron hand.