Pakistan moves up seven points on Transparency International 2023 corruption index
Pakistan moves up seven points on Transparency International 2023 corruption index /node/2450721/pakistan
Pakistan moves up seven points on Transparency International 2023 corruption index
In this picture taken on April 11, 2023, a young supporter of the winning team hold prize money after the tape ball night cricket tournament in Karachi, Pakistan. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: The Transparency International 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that Pakistan has improved its score, moving seven spots from 140 out of 180 countries in 2022 to 133 in 2023.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Over two-thirds of countries score below 50 out of 100, which strongly indicates that they have serious corruption problems. The global average is stuck at only 43, while the vast majority of countries have made no progress or declined in the last decade. What is more, 23 countries fell to their lowest scores to date this year, TI said.
Pakistan’s score for 2023 improved to 133 from 140 in 2022.
“Corruption will continue to thrive until justice systems can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check. When justice is bought or politically interfered with, it is the people that suffer,” François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International, said in a statement.
“Leaders should fully invest in and guarantee the independence of institutions that uphold the law and tackle corruption. It is time to end impunity for corruption.”
Every region is either stagnant in its overall corruption efforts or showing signs of decline, TI’s report said. However, a few countries have significantly improved their scores in the last decade, showing that progress is possible in any environment.
While Western Europe and the European Union remain the top-scoring region, its regional average score dropped to 65 this year, as checks and balances weaken and political integrity erodes. Despite improvement in some countries, Sub-Saharan Africa maintains the lowest average at 33, with democracy and the rule of law under pressure.
The rest of the world remains stagnant with all other regions having averages under 50. Eastern Europe and Central Asia grapples with the dysfunctional rule of law, rising authoritarianism and systemic corruption.
“The Middle East and North Africa shows little improvement, reflecting ongoing struggles with political corruption and conflict, and Asia Pacific shows long-term stagnation, although some countries historically at the top are backsliding,” TI said.
“Finally, lack of judicial independence and weak rule of law are enabling widespread impunity in the Americas.”
ADB to provide $410 million package for Barrick-run Pakistan mine, sources say
Reko Diq mine is expected to produce copper, gold from 2028 and generate about $70 billion in free cash flow over its lifespan
Financing composed of two loans totaling $300 million to Barrick, a $110 million financing guarantee for Pakistan’s government
Updated 4 sec ago
Reuters
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank will provide a $410 million financing package to help develop Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper mine, one of the world’s largest untapped deposits, which will be operated by Barrick Gold, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Islamabad hopes the project will serve as a springboard to draw more foreign interest to its mineral sector, particularly to exploit rare earth deposits. Pakistan has already attracted interest from the Trump administration and offered future concessions to US companies.
The loans and a financing guarantee will support development of Reko Diq, which is expected to produce copper and gold from 2028 and generate about $70 billion in free cash flow over its lifespan.
The financing is composed of two loans totaling $300 million to Barrick and a $110 million financing guarantee for the government of Pakistan, both sources said ahead of the official announcement.
The $6.6 billion project in Balochistan is 50 percent owned by Barrick, with the other half held by the federal and provincial governments.
ADB, the petroleum ministry and Barrick did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The project aims to raise upwards of $2 billion and has a previous agreement for $700 million in financing from the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private investment arm.
The project’s developers are in talks with other prospective financiers, including the US Export-Import Bank, Export Development Canada and Japan’s JBIC and expect to sign term sheets this quarter, project director Tim Cribb told Reuters in April.
Reko Diq, delayed for years by a legal dispute that was settled in 2022, will produce 200,000 metric tons of copper annually in its first phase, rising to 400,000 tons after an expansion.
Barrick says the mine could operate beyond its 37-year life through upgrades and further exploration.
KARACHI: An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi left at least 34 people injured on Thursday, triggering a fire that engulfed the building, officials and rescue workers said.
The blast occurred in a firecracker warehouse located within a building in the densely populated Saddar area of the metropolis. Flames and smoke could be seen billowing from the site and nearby streets littered with shattered glass in videos widely shared on social media. The intensity of the blast was so severe it was reportedly heard several kilometers away.
Dr. Summaiya Syed, a police surgeon Karachi, said 34 injured persons were brought to the city’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) and Civil Hospital after the blast.
“Of the 34, four are critical, two each now under treatment in these two hospitals,” Dr. Syed told Arab News.
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire following an explosion at a fireworks storage facility, in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 21, 2025. (AP)
Rescue officials confirmed that the fire was extinguished after several hours of firefighting.
“Ten fire tenders and a snorkel unit were involved in extinguishing the blaze,” Hassaan Khan, a spokesperson of the Rescue 1122 emergency service, said.
An 'Edhi life guard' volunteer wearing a mask looks out of a window after a fire that broke out at a firecracker warehouse in Karachi on August 21, 2025. (AFP)
The cause of the blast was immediately not clear. Police said the warehouse was owned by two brothers, both of whom were injured in the incident.
“We have recorded an initial statement from one of the owners, both will be included in the investigation,” said Deputy Inspector-General South Asad Raza said.
He added that the explosion had damaged several nearby vehicles and shattered the windows of surrounding buildings.
“Police will thoroughly investigate how the blast occurred,” the police official said. “Once the cause is determined, appropriate action will follow.”
Firefighters work to douse a fire that broke out at a firecracker warehouse in Karachi on August 21, 2025. (AFP)
Meanwhile, Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar has sought a detailed report from police on the incident. He also directed police to verify whether the warehouse owners had a valid license to store fireworks.
The minister told reporters that such warehouses are not allowed to exist in residential areas, assuring that those responsible would face legal action.
People look at a car destroyed by an explosion at a firecracker warehouse in Karachi on August 21, 2025. (AFP)
Explosions at fireworks facilities have taken place in Pakistan in the recent past. In January this year, six people were killed in a similar blast at a fireworks storage site in Mandi Bahauddin, a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (Met) forecast more rains in several parts of the country till Aug. 29, as the nation continues to reel from torrential monsoon downpours and resulting flash floods that have killed at least 458 people since Aug. 15.
Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has been the worst-hit province due to torrential rains, where 394 people have been killed since Aug. 15. Twenty-six people have been killed in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, 20 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 14 in Sindh since Aug. 15.
Pakistan’s financial capital and southern port city of Karachi reported 17 deaths from Aug. 19-20 as heavy rains lashed the metropolis on Tuesday and Wednesday. The city’s main arteries and underpasses were flooded with rainwater as thousands of commuters remained stranded for hours on Tuesday.
Cumulatively, Pakistan has reported 771 deaths since Jun. 26 and 993 injured in rain-related incidents. KP has reported the highest number of deaths, 465, followed by Punjab with 165, GB with 45, Sindh with 42, Balochistan and AJK with 23 deaths each while Islamabad has reported eight casualties as well since late June.
In its latest advisory, the Met Department said strong monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are likely to penetrate the upper parts of the country from Aug. 22. It added that a westerly wave is likely to approach upper parts of the country from the night of Aug. 22.
“Torrential rains with wind/thundershower predicted in upper and central parts from 23rd to 27th with occasional gaps,” the Met Department said. “Heavy rains expected in Sindh and eastern/southern Balochistan from 27th to 29th August.”
The advisory warned that torrential rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs and streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Manshera, Abbottabad, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, northeast Punjab, Azad Kashmir and the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan and adjoining areas from Aug. 23-26.
It warned of urban flooding in the low-lying areas of Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sargodha Peshawar, Nowshera and Mardan from Aug. 23-27.
“Landslides/mudslides may cause roads closure in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan Murree, Galliyat and Kashmir during the forecast period,” the advisory said.
Rescue personnel evacuate villagers and their belongings by boat from a flooded village following heavy rains in Ehsan Pur village, Kot Addu district of Punjab province on August 21, 2025. (AFP)
PM REACHES OUT TO POLITICAL PARTIES
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached out to leaders across political parties, his office said, to discuss the situation arising in the country after heavy monsoon rains and deadly flooding. Sharif contacted Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the ruling party in Sindh, to discuss the emergency situation after rains and flooding in Karachi.
“The prime minister expressed grief over torrential rains, urban flooding, and the loss of precious lives in southern Sindh, particularly Karachi,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. “The prime minister offered the federal government’s full support to the Sindh government in dealing with the emergency situation.”
Sharif directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to remain in close contact with the Sindh government and to extend all possible assistance to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and provide advance warnings to people about potential risks, the statement said.
The Pakistani premier also spoke to the chiefs of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Karachi-based Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) parties to discuss the ongoing situation in the city.
Sharif and Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, the JI’s chief, discussed the damage caused by recent rains in KP and ongoing relief operations in the city. Meanwhile, the Pakistani prime minister discussed possible risks due to more rainfall in Karachi with MQM-P chief and Education Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the PMO said.
Annual monsoon rains are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers in Pakistan, though in recent years they have caused intense flooding and landslides amid shifting weather patterns that scientists attribute to climate change worldwide.
Pakistan is among the world’s most vulnerable nations to climate change effects, despite contributing less than 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Devastating floods, triggered by unprecedented heavy rains and the melting of glaciers in 2022, killed over 1,700 people and inflicted losses around $30 billion, as per government estimates.
Islamabad: The 50th International Seerat-un-Nabi Conference will be held in Islamabad this year, focusing on the role of the state in guiding young people on the positive use of social media in light of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the country’s religious affairs minister said on Thursday.
The Seerat-un-Nabi Conference is Pakistan’s largest annual religious gathering dedicated to discussions on the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Organized each year by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, it coincides with the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, which Muslims commemorate as the month of the Prophet’s birth. This year’s edition carries added significance as it will be the 50th conference and part of nationwide observances to mark the 1500th year since the Prophet’s birth.
Rabi’ Al-Awwal 2025 is expected to begin on Aug. 24, 2025, depending on the sighting of the moon. The 12th of Rabi’ Al-Awwal, which is the date of Eid Milad-un-Nabi (the Prophet’s birthday), will be on Sept. 4. The Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles, so the exact dates can vary based on moon sightings.
“The conference’s theme is ‘State responsibilities in the teaching and training for the beneficial use of social media in the light of the Seerat-un-Nabi,’” Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
The minister made the remarks while chairing an inter-provincial meeting in Islamabad attended by representatives from federal and provincial religious affairs departments, as well as secretaries from Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
At the meeting, officials also finalized plans for the Ashra Rehmat-ul-lil-Alameen (Decade of Mercy to the Worlds), to be marked from 1–12 Rabi-ul-Awwal with events nationwide.
Yousaf said the purpose of the Ashra was to promote greater awareness of the Prophet’s life and guidance:
“Students of modern educational institutions and religious seminaries will hold joint programs where young people can express their views.”
He added that efforts must be made to find solutions to contemporary challenges by following prophetic teachings:
“We must protect our education, economy, social values, and family system from being affected in the present age. The deterioration in society is due to not following the Uswa-e-Nabavi (the exemplary life of the Prophet).”
The minister emphasized that it was the collective duty of Muslims to spread the Prophet’s message.
“In today’s era of social media, it has become even easier to spread the message of Islam,” Yousaf added.
Pakistan gets offers in 200,000 tons sugar tender, traders say
Lowest offer in tender quoted at $560 per ton c&f, with bids still under review
Pakistan plans to import 500,000 tons overall after retail sugar prices surged sharply
Updated 21 August 2025
Reuters
HAMBURG: The lowest price offered in an international tender from Pakistan to buy 200,000 metric tons of sugar on Thursday was believed to be $560 a metric ton cost and freight included (c&f), European traders said in initial assessments.
Offers in the tender from the state trading agency Trading Corporation of Pakistan are still being considered and no purchase has yet been reported, they said.
The TCP can negotiate for several days in tenders before deciding whether to purchase.
The lowest offer was said to have been submitted by trading house Bare for small grade sugar. Bare also offered $580 for medium grade sugar, with a total 187,000 tons offered.
Three tender participants all offered 25,000 tons of small grade sugar: Sucden at $579, Dreyfus at $581.50 and Cofco at $592 all per ton c&f.
ED&F Man offered 32,000 tons of small grade at $579 a ton c&f and also 27,400 tons of small grade at $569 a ton c&f.
Al Khaleej Sugar was believed to have offered 60,000 tons of small grade at $572.30 and 30,000 tons of medium grade at $582.30 a ton c&f.
The TCP’s tender seeks price offers for fine, small and medium grade sugar, all for arrival in Pakistan by October 31.
Pakistan’s government has approved plans to import 500,000 tons of sugar to help to maintain price stability after retail sugar prices in the country rose sharply.
The TCP bought a total of 105,000 tons in its previous sugar tender reported on August 14.
Reports reflect assessments from traders and further estimates of prices and volumes are still possible later.
