Pakistan's Fight Against Organized Crime Hindered by Governance and Resilience Gaps
Pakistan has made efforts to combat organized crime, leading to its removal from the FATF grey list in 2022. However, the country remains under FATF's enhanced follow-up to ensure sustained implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. The Global Organized Crime Index (GOCI) 2025 places Pakistan 45th out of 193 countries, indicating high vulnerability and low resilience against organized crime. This assessment highlights significant weaknesses in Pakistan's approach, suggesting a need to re-evaluate the balance between targeting criminal activities and strengthening societal resilience.
The GOCI 2025 specifically identifies five critical areas of weakness in Pakistan's resilience-building efforts. These include political leadership and governance, where a lack of trust in state institutions, political interference in law enforcement, widespread corruption, and military influence in political processes are major impediments. The judicial system is deemed weak and subject to political influence, with Transparency International ranking it as the third most corrupt institution. Government transparency and accountability are also ineffective, as evidenced by Pakistan's low ranking in the World Press Freedom Index and criticisms of anti-corruption bodies like NAB for political bias. Furthermore, Pakistan is ranked 112th out of 112 countries in the 2025 Global Index on Fraud, indicating extreme permissiveness for fraudulent practices.
Economic regulatory capacity is ranked very low, despite initiatives like developing a central registry of ultimate beneficial owners. The support for victims and witnesses of organized crime is characterized by technical compliance with FATF standards but poor on-the-ground implementation, with witness protection laws rarely utilized. The cumulative effect of these weaknesses creates an environment conducive to organized crime, rendering anti-crime efforts superficial. The author, a former director general of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, stresses the need for national action plans in these five areas, with public monitoring and transparent reporting, emphasizing that combating criminality and building resilience must be pursued concurrently.
The report highlights a critical disconnect between Pakistan's stated commitment to combating organized crime and the systemic weaknesses that undermine its effectiveness. While progress on FATF delisting is noted, the GOCI 2025 assessment reveals that fundamental issues in governance, judicial integrity, transparency, and economic regulation create a fertile ground for illicit activities. The analysis suggests that focusing solely on punitive measures without addressing the underlying societal and institutional vulnerabilities is a self-defeating strategy. Future efforts should prioritize strengthening state institutions, ensuring judicial independence, and fostering transparency to build genuine resilience against organized crime, rather than relying on superficial compliance. This approach is essential for long-term stability and security in an era where transnational organized crime poses significant global challenges.
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