Pakistan and Bangladesh establish business council in ‘milestone’ agreement

KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has applauded Pakistan’s commitment to conducting external governance and corruption evaluation to strengthen its systems, according to a statement this week, adding its assessment team, which recently concluded its visit to the country, will return later this year.
A three-member IMF mission carried out the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCD) in Pakistan from February 6 to 14 under the $7 billion loan program secured in September 2024.
According to Pakistan’s finance ministry, it will prepare a report recommending actions to address corruption vulnerabilities and strengthen integrity and governance, adding that its findings will help shape structural reforms.
The IMF said the team had done the “groundwork” for the assessment at the request of Pakistani authorities, surveying several critical areas.
“The IMF appreciates the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to this exercise and looks forward to continuing our collaboration,” the international lending agency said on its website in a statement prepared on February 18.
“The IMF team for the GCD assessment will return to Pakistan later this year to continue gathering information and exploring opportunities to strengthen governance, integrity, and economic outcomes in preparation for the eventual assessment,” it added.
The statement said the visiting team’s focus was to preliminarily assess governance and corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions, including fiscal and central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).
During its mission, the IMF team engaged with the Finance Division, Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan, Auditor General of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ministry of Law and Justice and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Additionally, its members met with a range of other stakeholders, including business associations, civil society organizations and international development partners.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also wrote to the team, raising grievances related to the last general elections, which it claims were rigged, and concerns about the judiciary.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan authorities have sealed the home of an NGO chief who authored a report alleging widespread rigging in national elections last year, he told AFP on Saturday.
Polls in February 2024 took place with the nation’s most popular politician Imran Khan jailed and barred from running, and a coalition of parties considered pliable to the powerful military took power.
This month, NGO Pattan published a report on the elections and described them in a statement as “unprecedentedly rigged” with “vote-rigging, fraud and manipulation.”
Pattan chief Sarwar Bari — currently in London — said his home in the capital Islamabad was sealed off on Friday night.
“This is obviously in response to the report,” he told AFP.
His wife Aliya Bano said the property was closed off by a team of around two dozen including police officers, magistrates and Islamabad administration officials.
A judge’s order to seal the residence, seen by AFP, said Pattan’s registration as an NGO had been canceled in 2019 and it was operating illegally.
Bari said he often used his residence for Pattan meetings and postal correspondence but was adamant it was primarily his home.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement on social media platform X that it was “alarmed” by reports his home had been sealed.
“Such tactics of intimidation against citizens are unacceptable,” the statement said. “The matter should be heard immediately in a court of law.”
Pattan has called for a public inquiry into the national elections which took place on February 8, 2024.
Ahead of the vote ex-prime minister Khan’s party was targeted by a sweeping crackdown, which saw numerous senior leaders arrested and their street campaigning disrupted.
Days before the poll, Khan was convicted of a trio of offenses including graft, treason and illegal marriage.
Polling day itself was marred by a mobile Internet blackout, which Islamabad said was necessary to address security concerns.
Social media platform X has been banned since soon after the polls, when it was used to air rigging allegations.
Despite the setbacks, candidates loyal to Khan won more seats than any other party but a coalition led by two former rival parties considered allies of the military shut them out of power.
Pakistan’s military has directly ruled the country for decades at a time and continues to wield immense power in civilian politics, analysts say.