Corruption has become synonymous with our existing system and is pushing our nation to a dead end. Favouritism, misappropriation of public funds, bad debts and misuse of power are on the rise. The agencies responsible for checking corruption have completely failed in their mission.
The presence of corruption and corrupt practices in a society distract a man from ethics, humanely attitude, tradition, civics and laws. It degrades the morality of the people which leads to violence or dissension among the people. It deteriorates law and order; shackle the economy which leads to inflation, unemployment and poverty in the country. Corruption has also adverse impact on the private investment, both domestic and foreign.
The root causes of corruption in the country are lack of effective accountability, poor performance of government, unchecked and unlimited power of feudal, unequal structure of society, weak political institutions and absence of rule of law. Islam explicitly condemns the existence of corruption in every form.
It is a pity that we are working without effective planning. We will have to adopt effective measures to check corruption. The people should be made aware of their rights. Institutions should be made strong for proper working of democratic system. Proper system of accountability and check and balance should be implemented. Anti-social activities should be condemned and resisted. In time justice can minimise corruption practices. Salaries and wages should be increased The unemployed should be provided jobs and recruited purely on merit. Education system must be improved. Media can play a significant role in creating awareness among people about this issue and its adverse effects. But first of all we must reform ourselves.
SHUMROZE MUNIR BALOCH
Lahore
