Examining the Impact of Corruption Control Measures and Law Enforcement on Public Sector Integrity and Citizens’ Confidence in Pakistan

Abstract

Corruption remains a major challenge to governance in Pakistan, undermining institutional integrity and eroding citizens’ trust in public institutions. Despite numerous reform efforts, weak enforcement and inconsistent accountability have perpetuated systemic corruption, necessitating an integrated approach to governance reform. This study aims to examine the impact of corruption control measures and law enforcement practices on public sector integrity and citizens’ confidence. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 417 public sector employees across multiple departments through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, correlation, and multiple regression in SPSS. The findings reveal that corruption control measures are significantly associated with improvements in public sector integrity (β = 0.58; R² = 0.34) and citizens’ confidence (β = 0.51; R² = 0.26). More prominently, law enforcement demonstrates a stronger influence on institutional integrity (β = 0.72; R² = 0.64) and citizens’ confidence (β = 0.75; R² = 0.70), highlighting the critical role of transparent, consistent, and impartial enforcement. These results underscore that anti-corruption strategies are most effective when coupled with robust enforcement mechanisms that ensure accountability and equal application of the law. The study concludes that strengthening governance in Pakistan requires not only the design of anti-corruption frameworks but also their credible enforcement, which together enhance institutional credibility and rebuild public trust. The findings provide empirical evidence to guide policymakers in implementing context-specific reforms, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and responsive enforcement as pillars of effective governance in emerging democracies.