The government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) seems to be on edge after Transparency International (TI) revealed that the corruption in Pakistan had increased a notch in the current political tenure. Corruption is one of the leading factors in the campaign, political ideology, and governance of PTI. While the government has made several attempts to change the basics of the system by shuffling and transferring important positions, there are reports that corrupt practices instead of dying out have increased in cost. This has been pointed out by several opposition leaders on different political talk shows in the country.

PTI, on the other hand, believes that they have been able to streamline the system during their tenure. The only issue according to them is the lack of attention given to the Head of the TI chapter Pakistan. PTI believes that the reason why the report was favourable in the time of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in comparison is that they made sure they had good relations with the TI head. This is a huge allegation against both TI and the former government of Pakistan. Without proof, the government is alleging that the reports can be maneuvered. If such is the case, there needs to be an investigation into the matter.

However, if the investigation proves PTI wrong, it would be beneficial for them to accept mistakes within the system. Corruption is a huge challenge that is impossible to do away with in mere eight or nine months in government. Such reports create transparency and a greater understanding of the system. A similar international report also found former premier Nawaz Sharif guilty of money laundering - a report on which domestic political actors relied heavily on. The government is already facing accusations of political victimisation. It is important to create a balance in the narrative so that institutions and their findings can be trusted.

If each government discards reports as it pleases, the trend of targeting the opposition will never go out of fashion. We have witnessed the result of it in the form of the rift between both sides of the government and how that is preventing any significant political, social and economic strides. It is important for the government to either back its viewpoint with proof or refrain from engaging in rhetorical politics and accept blame where guilty.