The Washington-based World Justice Project (WJP) has released its 2012 Rule of Law Index, which finds Pakistan the seventh most corrupt and the top-most insecure nation out of a total of 97 countries assessed.
The country also presents a dismal picture in the categories of human rights, civil and criminal justice, regulatory enforcement, check on government powers, regulatory enforcement and openness of the government.
The report says the comparison of the index shows Pakistan scoring strongly on judicial independence and fairness in administrative proceedings. According to the 241-page report, Pakistan shows weaknesses in most dimensions when compared to its regional and income group peers.
Low level of government accountability is compounded by the prevalence of corruption, a weak justice system, and a poor security situation, particularly related to terrorism and crime. The country scores more strongly on judicial independence and fairness in administrative proceedings.
According to the report, the global ratings of 97 countries, including Pakistan, is assessed in eight factors, including limited government powers, absence of corruption, order and security, fundamental rights, open government, regularity enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice, which all contribute towards rule of law.
In the case of Pakistan, all out corruption is 90th. It is 97th (the last) in the category of order and security, 93rd in the field of human rights, 92nd in areas of open government, 91st in civil justice, 88th in regulatory enforcement, 80th in criminal justice and 69th out of 97 countries in limited government powers.
The report is a product of five years of intensive development, testing, and vetting – including interviewing 97,000 members of the general public and more than 2,500 experts in the 97 countries.