Survey: economy steadier, police and procurement top graft list

Transparency International Pakistan’s National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS) 2025 reports that the public sees police, tendering/procurement and the judiciary as the most corrupt sectors. A majority — 77% — is dissatisfied with anti-graft efforts, while 59% view provincial governments as more corrupt than local administrations, peaking at 70% in Punjab.

Despite the bleak perceptions, 66% of respondents said they did not have to pay a bribe over the past year. On the economy, 58% credited government measures — including the IMF programme and Pakistan’s exit from FATF monitoring — for stabilisation, even as 57% felt their purchasing power had declined in the last 12 months.

Respondents backed reforms to political finance: 42% want corporate donations to parties banned outright and 41% favour strict regulation. Over half support barring party names and leaders’ photos from government advertisements.

Health-sector corruption was flagged as particularly harmful, with hospitals, doctors and pharmaceuticals frequently cited. Awareness of how to report corruption remains low; 70% said they knew of no reporting channels, and among those who did, fewer than half had ever filed a complaint.

Provincial breakdowns showed Punjab reporting the highest perceptions of police corruption and pharmaceutical malpractice, Sindh leading on bribery exposure in public services, KP recording the highest judicial corruption perception, and Balochistan topping concerns in tendering and medical practice.