Pakistan's systems of governance continue to be bedeviled by rampant corruption, and the military has been identified as being both immune from accountability and heavily involved in the rotting of state institutions, a new report published on Wednesday states.
The report brings to light that the country's armed forces have emerged "the most entrenched source of institutional rot, a corrupt institution covered by power, sustained through secrecy, and enabled by a lack of civilian oversight.
Instances of corruption among various branches of the military were also mentioned. "The Pakistan Air Force's Shaheen Foundation was under scrutiny after its partnership with South Africa's Hollard Group came crashing down because of corruption. The Pakistan Navy was involved in the Karachi scandal where €50 million in bribes were said to have been paid to top officers and political leaders," the report published by Asian Line said.
Additional irregularities were indicated in the businesses run by the military. "The Fauji Foundation in 2004 sold Khoski Sugar Mill for Pakistani rupees (PKR) 300 million even though it had obtained a better offer of PKR 387 million. During the period 2004-2008, two army generals were involved in causing an Rs 1.8 billion loss to the National Logistics Corporation on account of speculative investments," it added.
The report also attributed corruption to suspensions of international aid. In February 2025, over $845 million in development aid for Pakistan was suspended after revelations of widespread corruption, weak financial management, and bureaucratic inefficiency. The suspension affected programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been investing in Pakistan's development for decades.
"Despite the magnitude of the foreign aid, the results have been abysmal. Investigations uncovered that much of the aid never made it to its targeted beneficiaries," the report concluded.
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