ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the upcoming review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has prepared a 15-point action plan to address governance and corruption risks, including identifying the 10 federal agencies most vulnerable to corruption and macro-critical exposures.
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The 240-page plan, developed by the Government of Pakistan in response to the Governance and Diagnostic Assessment (GCD) report, outlines reforms to strengthen institutions, reduce economic dispute backlogs and enhance anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement. A key measure involves creating a centralised corruption risk assessment framework under a proposed National Anti-Corruption Task Force to pinpoint high-risk organisations and devise mitigation strategies.
The task force, to operate under the National AML/CFT Authority, will include major accountability and financial oversight bodies such as the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue. It will prepare a national corruption risk assessment and align its methodology with Pakistan’s existing money-laundering and terrorism-financing risk framework.
Based on the findings, the task force will identify the top 10 high-risk federal entities and develop a risk-reduction action plan with clear key performance indicators and defined responsibilities for each ministry and agency. The plan will include both system-wide reforms and agency-specific measures.
Judicial reforms are also proposed to reduce economic case backlogs. In the first year, authorities will design and publish a methodology to assess court and judge performance, followed by a comprehensive performance report in the second year covering administrative tribunals and special courts handling commercial and economic disputes.
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A legislative review of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 will be conducted by a joint working group to clarify legal ambiguities, strengthen investigative powers and improve prosecution effectiveness. Amendments are targeted for parliamentary approval by June 2027.
The Financial Monitoring Unit will issue corruption-specific reporting guidelines and bring the planned Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority under the suspicious transaction reporting framework to enhance oversight.