- NAB reforms to ensure transparent selection of leaders.
- The anti-corruption plan targets the most high-risk departments.
- Banks will be able to access data on the assets of civil servants.
Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will implement key anti-corruption reforms, including public disclosure of asset declarations of civil servants and granting greater operational autonomy to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) within agreed structural benchmarks by January 2027. News reported.
To ensure the independence and operational autonomy of the main anti-corruption agency, the institutional independence of the NAB will be ensured through a transparent selection process of senior management and the publication of operating rules and statistics, within the framework of the new structural benchmark set for the end of January 2027.
The government has made a written commitment to the IMF to review and improve the process of appointing the chairman of the NAB.
Under the leadership of the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Commission, proposed amendments to the NAB Ordinance will be developed and submitted to Parliament to: (i) adopt predetermined qualification criteria (e.g. years of experience, integrity standards); (ii) establish an open and competitive selection process based on merit; and (iii) appoint a multi-sectoral commission of stakeholders (including representatives from government, opposition, judiciary, civil service, academia and civil society) to carry out open, rules-based, rigorous and transparent recruitment.
“The government will also publish the NAB standard operating procedures and rules, as well as annual statistics regarding investigations, prosecutions and convictions for corruption offenses on the NAB website,” the government assured the IMF.
Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to complete the third review of the $7 billion Expanded Financing Facility (EFF) programme. Under the agreement, Islamabad will strengthen its institutional capacities and take additional measures to combat corruption to support inclusive growth and a level playing field for businesses and investments.
The publication of asset declarations for senior federal officials will be completed by the end of December 2026. The Personnel Division has revised the rules of conduct for public servants requiring: (i) centralized digital submission and collection of asset declarations; (ii) risk-based verification; and (iii) disclosure of statements with limited restrictions on confidential personal information.
The Establishment Division is expected to revise the declaration form to clarify restrictions on confidential personal information by the end of May 2026 and, in coordination with the FBR, will develop a framework for risk-based verifications.
The FBR will develop a digital platform for filing asset declarations by the end of June 2026 to facilitate the implementation of the reform.
To grant access to asset declarations for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) purposes, the SBP, FBR and FMU will continue to support banks’ access to asset declarations of senior federal officials (BPS 17-22).
The FBR has issued a notification to extend banks’ access to asset declarations of any official of the federal or provincial governments or autonomous bodies, corporations and companies belonging to these governments. To create awareness among banks, the government will publish access statistics on the FBR website by June 2026.
Tasked by the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee — constituted by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and chaired by the Minister of Law and Justice — the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been designated to lead the development of an action plan to mitigate corruption vulnerabilities in the top ten government ministries identified as having the highest corruption risks. This plan must be completed by the end of October 2026 as a structural benchmark.
To guide the development of the plan, in consultation and with the agreement of IMF staff, the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee will develop and publish, by the end of June 2026, a methodology for assessing and prioritizing corruption risks at the agency level, as well as protocols for conducting risk assessments, reporting and reviewing the results of the analysis and defining the plan to reduce corruption risks in the identified agencies.
The methodology should set out the assessment criteria, using relevant information held by government agencies and ministries, including the NAB, Auditor General, Competition Commission, FBR and FIA. It should take into account: (i) the value of money at risk due to corruption vulnerabilities linked to the agency’s functions and budget; (ii) the typologies of corruption in the agency evaluated; (iii) the existence of structural weaknesses that give rise to vulnerabilities to corruption; and (iv) information on the frequency of corruption, including past and ongoing cases of corruption.
The government informed the IMF that it has established three committees to monitor progress under the recently released Economic Governance Reform (EGR) plan, which implements the priority recommendations of the GCD report. Progress reports will be prepared every six months to monitor implementation and will be published on the Ministry of Finance website.
The government will convene a policy dialogue in April 2026 to discuss issues of institutional and structural implementation, design of performance indicators, common challenges and cross-cutting issues, public monitoring, reporting and capacity development. The government will invite development partners, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to participate in this process.
Based on these discussions and in close consultation with key stakeholders, the government will develop and publish results-based updates on progress in its biannual report. These updates will provide the backdrop for a second policy dialogue in July 2026, which will take stock of the six-month implementation of the EGR plan.
The government will continue to strengthen the capacity of provincial anti-corruption establishments (PACE) to conduct corruption-related financial investigations at the provincial level. In accordance with the AML Law and the National Tax Compact, the relevant federal notification process initiated by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) will be published by the end of December 2026, designating PACEs to investigate money laundering related to corruption offenses within their jurisdiction, and to request and receive financial intelligence from the FMU as an investigative agency.
