- NAB reforms to ensure transparent leadership election.
- The anti-corruption plan targets high-risk top departments.
- Banks to access officials’ asset data.
Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of implementing key anti-corruption reforms, including public officials’ asset declarations and granting greater operational autonomy to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) under agreed structural benchmarks by January 2027, The news reported.
To provide independence and operational autonomy to the premier anti-corruption agency, NAB’s institutional independence will be ensured through a transparent selection process for senior management and publication of operating rules and statistics under the new structural benchmark set for the end of January 2027.
The government has given a written commitment to the IMF that it will review and improve the NAB chairman appointment process.
Under the guidance of the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee, proposed amendments to the NAB Regulation will be developed and submitted to Parliament to: (i) adopt predetermined qualification criteria (eg years of experience, integrity standards); (ii) establish a merit-based, open and competitive selection process; and (iii) appoint a multi-stakeholder commission (with representatives from the government, opposition, judiciary, civil service, academia and civil society) to conduct an open, rules-based, rigorous and transparent recruitment.
“The government will also publish NAB’s standard operating procedures and rules as well as annual statistics regarding investigation, prosecution and conviction of corruption offenses on the NAB website,” the government assured the IMF.
Pakistan and the IMF have agreed on the completion of the third review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Under this agreement, Islamabad will strengthen institutional capacity and take additional measures to fight corruption to support inclusive growth and a level playing field for business and investment.
The publication of asset declarations by high-level federal civil servants will be implemented by the end of December 2026. The Establishment Division has revised the Civil Service (Conduct) Rules which require: (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 will revise the declaration form to specify restrictions on confidential personal data by the end of May 2026, and will, in coordination with the FBR, develop a framework for risk-based verifications.
FBR will develop a digital platform for submission of asset statements by the end of June 2026 to facilitate the implementation of the reform.
To provide access to asset statements for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) purposes, the SBP, FBR and FMU will continue to support banks’ access to asset statements from senior federal officials (BPS 17-22).
The FBR has issued a notification to extend the access of banks to cover asset declarations of any official of the federal or provincial governments or autonomous bodies, corporations and companies owned by such governments. In order to increase banks’ awareness, the government will publish access statistics on the FBR’s website by June 2026 at the latest.
Mandated 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 appointed to lead the development of an action plan to mitigate corruption vulnerability in the top ten 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 with and agreement with IMF staff, the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee will, by the end of June 2026, develop and publish a methodology for assessing and prioritizing corruption risks at the agency level, together with protocols for conducting risk assessments, reporting and reviewing the results of the analysis plan to reduce the risk of corruption agencies.
The method should determine the assessment criteria by making use of relevant information held by agencies and ministries across government, including NAB, the Auditor General, the Competition Commission, FBR and FIA. It should consider: (i) the value of money at risk due to corruption vulnerabilities related to the agency’s functions and budget; (ii) typologies of corruption in the assessed agency; (iii) the existence of structural weaknesses that give rise to corruption vulnerabilities; and (iv) information on the frequency of corruption, including past and ongoing corruption cases.
The government has notified the IMF that it has set up three committees to monitor progress under the recently announced Economic Governance Reform (EGR) plan, which implements the priority recommendations of the GCD report. Status reports will be prepared on a six-monthly basis to track implementation and will be published on the Ministry of Finance’s website.
The government will organize a political dialogue in April 2026 to discuss institutional and structural implementation issues, 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 half-yearly report. These updates will serve as background for another policy dialogue in July 2026, which will take stock of the six-month implementation of the EGR plan.
The Government will continue to improve the capacity of Provincial Anti-Corruption Establishments (PACEs) to conduct financial investigations related to corruption at the provincial level. In accordance with the AML Act and the National Fiscal Compact, the relevant federal notification process initiated by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) will be issued by the end of December 2026, which designates the PACEs to investigate money laundering related to corruption offenses within their jurisdiction and to request and receive financial intelligence from an investigative agency such as.
