The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on October 31, 2003, and designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. The purpose of this global observance is to raise awareness about corruption and mobilize international resolve to prevent, combat and eliminate corrupt practices. The Convention, which came into force in December 2005, underscores the seriousness with which the world must treat corruption, given the “problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice, and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law.”

Corruption, unfortunately, is neither new nor isolated to a few states. It is a global phenomenon that continues to haunt societies and governments. Pakistan too has witnessed the corrosive impact of corruption over the decades. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, foreseeing the dangers of this menace, had warned the nation against corruption and bribery at the very inception of Pakistan in 1947. For many years after independence, the moral strength of society and the clarity of national ideology ensured that corruption remained rare, both among the masses and within political elites. As a result, Pakistan experienced socio-economic stability despite political fluctuations and even the trauma of the 1971........

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