Majority of Pakistanis express optimism over country’s long-term direction: Report

Mishal Pakistan’s transparency report 2026 shows that over half Pakistanis are positive about the direction the country is heading, with 52% of respondents feeling confident about the future of the country.

Mishal Pakistan has launched The State of Transparency in Pakistan 2026, a state and government level analysis of transparency, accountability, public confidence and governance.

This is the first complete national assessment of the quality of governance in Pakistan, using the TARL paradigm in the dimensions of transparency, accountability, rule of law and public confidence.

The report is based on the opinions of 2,000 respondents from around the country.

According to the report, 45 per cent of the respondents were aged between 18 and 25 years and 35pc were aged between 26 and 35 years. Around 67pc were graduates, 32pc with a master’s degree and 1pc with a doctorate degree.

Pakistan has a broad accountability framework, the report stated, adding that rules exist at the federal level and in all four provinces enabling public access to information.

The Public Accounts Committee performs extensive scrutiny of organisations and agencies on the basis of Auditor General’s yearly reports, it stated. The Auditor General of Pakistan completed 683 audits throughout 29 subordinate offices which identified anomalies totalling Rs224 billion.

The report further mentioned that major regulatory authorities, including the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, NEPRA, NAB, Auditor General and HEC, regularly publish yearly performance reports.

Social media has become a significant source of information. About 25% of respondents mentioned Facebook as their main source, 20% WhatsApp. But 58% found social media news to be deceptive. Television was named as a source of information by 15% and no respondent mentioned newspapers.

The report concluded that the public trusted institutions in varied degrees. About 34% believed that Parliament would strengthen financial discipline and 34% had confidence that Parliament would establish Pakistan as an Islamic welfare state.

Meanwhile, 52% of respondents said the government is operating based on long-term vision and 36% said the administration is influenced by popular opinion. Around 43% said they trust policymakers’ ability, 39% trust police reforms and 40% trust the higher judiciary.

The armed forces had maximum institutional trust with 82% of respondents saying they had confidence in their role in securing Pakistan’s borders.

The paper investigated public knowledge about regulatory bodies. 90% knew about Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 95% about FBR and 90% about HEC.

On digital governance, 52% stated that e-government platforms were increasing service delivery, while 54% thot that Pakistan was moving toward a digital future. Overall, 52 percent of respondents were optimistic about the long-term direction of Pakistan.