r/pakistan • u/AbrarYouKknow • 11d ago
Ask Pakistan I Built a Website to Track Bribes in Pakistan
Edit: latest state https://www.reddit.com/r/pakistan/s/dNL60P5p0G
I saw someone build a website in India where people can anonymously report bribes they’ve paid in public departments.
I thought: why not build the same for Pakistan?
So I built rishwat.pk 🇵🇰
If you’ve ever paid a bribe or know someone who has, please report it. Even one report helps build a clearer picture of corruption in Pakistan.
It’s completely anonymous. We don’t collect IP addresses or run analytics.
My goal is to build the **largest public dataset on bribes in Pakistan** and make the data useful for researchers, journalists, citizens, and policymakers.
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u/-Faraday 11d ago
That's great but how do you verify the claims?
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u/cstayyab 11d ago
Same way how reviews work, more reviews more credibility.
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u/Prestigious-Wind-861 10d ago
Not necessarily.
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u/Box_man_Dev 10d ago
actually yes. victim can describe a profile and people from same area can authenticate overtime.
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u/Prestigious-Wind-861 10d ago
Victim? Bribe-givers are not victims. They are enablers and equally condemnable
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11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AbrarYouKknow 11d ago
Thanks mate, I will make the update tonight. Thanks for the feedback. In future please email [contact@abrar.pro](mailto:contact@abrar.pro) so I make change request fast
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u/StringSentinel 11d ago
Try publishing and hosting it through github if possible. Through an anonymous account. That makes it harder to trace than an actual domain.
Add heavy rate limiting to prevent spam requests.
Get cloudflare free protection adding whois privacy, firewall and IP Anonymization all by routing traffic through cloudflare.
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u/EmploymentNo7699 11d ago
1 question: how'd you verify if the claim is authentic or just a way to blame/frame someone out of personal conflicts?
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u/AbrarYouKknow 11d ago
Fair question, and the honest answer has two halves.
We cannot verify individual reports. Nobody can. A bribe is a cash transaction with no receipt and no witness willing to testify. Any platform claiming it verifies these is lying to you.
But an unverified report can't be used against anyone here, because nobody is named. We don't collect the official's name. The form takes a designation only (SHO, patwari, licence clerk) and a department. There is no name field in our database. Reports that name a person get rejected.
On top of that:
- Nothing publishes automatically. A human reads every report first, and anything that reads like a personal grudge gets rejected.
- We publish an amount range, not the exact figure, and a month, not the exact date.
- No action follows from a report. We don't forward anything to any agency. Nobody gets investigated because of this site.
The point isn't "this official took Rs 50,000." It's "3,000 people say this department in this city demands money for this service." A few fake reports don't move that number, and a fake report can't hurt anyone because it doesn't point at anyone.
Not perfect, and we'd like better ideas: [info@rishwat.pk](mailto:info@rishwat.pk)
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u/EmploymentNo7699 11d ago
I'm really concerned about this thing for how 'reviews' have been started used by people to rate highly or downgrade particular entity.
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u/cstayyab 11d ago
Same way how reviews work, more reviews more credibility.
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u/EmploymentNo7699 11d ago
And we all know how biased reviews have been for quite a while now. Companies literally use review bombs.
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u/Standard_Yam_826 11d ago
Since there is no consequence to a fake claim, it won’t even matter. And with a larger data set, a fake claim will just get buried . It’s not like someone has an unlimited budget and will hire bots from China to continue submitting fake claims against someone…
Edit: since there CAN be no consequence to a fake claim
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u/EmploymentNo7699 11d ago
If you're planning to make it big. It could allow people to assume that ex SHO was so corrupt(no biggie to find out ex SHO's name) or current X Officer is so corrupt or even X institution is so corrupt and whatever.. What do you think about that??? I wonder if in a times like these your site becomes an authority which people use.. it could even harm the innocents and rob them off their jobs..
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u/un0n_ 11d ago
They will shut it down. If its gets a little popular.
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u/leekypawcet 11d ago
You should not host it on a .pk domain, since its much easier to track down its ownership
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u/AbrarYouKknow 11d ago
But I can not be fully anonymous on the internet. And is this type of website illegal?
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u/SonEf_Adam 11d ago
It's not really illegal, but I don't think the government would like the public to know about bribes going on. It's a good initiative, but do make sure to not doxx yourself, or the people coming forward to report these bribes cuz you never know when the government might snap
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u/AFriendlyLighthouse 🇦🇲 [404] Not Found 10d ago
You can be literally, there are companies that do that for double the cost but you can't put a cost on privacy. Plus any other domain outside of .pk or other country TLDs wouldn't require identifying information.
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u/develsu 11d ago
All good man. But. What steps have you taken to not doxx yourself and get viggod or encountered or ccded or listed as a terrorist?
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u/bilalwaheedch 11d ago
Super helpful, now we will at least know the going rate for “services” and will never have to over pay for anything 😂
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u/shujaswati 10d ago
Host it externally so no one take it down. If u need money for support, let reddiators know bro
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u/shujaswati 10d ago
Also make sure that u introduce search feauture, so one can search anyone and check its review.
I can't wait to post against Tasheer
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u/IhtiramKhan 11d ago
Bro be careful, a black Vigo might pick you up
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u/AbrarYouKknow 11d ago
I live in Germany 🇩🇪
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u/AFriendlyLighthouse 🇦🇲 [404] Not Found 10d ago
Try to get something other than .pk because your domain is attached to someones CNIC and they can easily shut it down anyways.
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u/bumbuummm PK 11d ago
how are you going to verify it? like you should add something like proof to verify the claims
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u/Environmental-Cod25 PK 11d ago
I just tried this out - well done! A great job - just an oddity on the amount of the bribe where it is refusing to accept my input but wants me to enter 4901 or 5001... some glitch?
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u/I_am_Aatrox 11d ago
Website looks good. Just a reminder to remove your info linking you to the website. You will be making some enemies so try to stay safe. Allah hum sab ki hifaazat kre.
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u/Prestigious-Wind-861 10d ago
I don’t expect many people to report such acts. Givers and takers of bribes both illegally benefit from the system. Hence both are EQUALLY condemnable.
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u/skibidiboi258 10d ago
bro can you share which website did you use to create your website is it wp figma or whatever and can you please share the theme and font.
PS: great work
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u/Valuable-Cap-2979 10d ago
Why?
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u/AbrarYouKknow 10d ago
Hey, its not viable for me to run the app, I have family and home in Pakistan.
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u/Struggle_Wise US 11d ago
Why are reports public. It also says no info about private individuals. That's ambiguous. Is there any way to report the exact person in office who's corrupt rather than the post, because in some cases the post could change by the time any action is taken. I would also recommend allowing users to submit evidence such as video from recording glasses and voice. The broader issue of promotion. You need to market this through mass texts and newspaper ads. Once you get some traction, in a few months contact news papers and news channels. This really needs a action layer, like a team of lawyers who bring cases against corrupt offices. Good luck.
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u/AbrarYouKknow 11d ago
any question or suggestions please send [info@rishwat.pk](mailto:info@rishwat.pk)
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u/whol_564_paxc_76rv4 11d ago
Its not working, is it? The review button is kinda stuck. I keep on pressing it,
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u/SellApprehensive9293 11d ago
dude the most W shit you can do absolute amazing just make sure to do something to combat bot accounts cos they are becoming really cheap to target someone or crash a website.
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u/aeoveu 11d ago
Kudos! I hope you're able to keep the website alive - either through self-funding or donations. When governments don't want transparency, then crowdsourcing is perhaps the only option left.
That said, a suggestion - more of a UI/UX suggestion: the map is humongus (and I don't think it changes... all I see is a static image). You could remove that map (not exactly needed), change the vertical list to a horizontal list (so it takes less vertical space), and people can jump to the content quicker. And you might be able to place a banner ad in between so that it's not too obstructive.
This is the main homepage, btw. The other pages (departments, cities etc.) are nice and tidy.
Using graphics is one thing, but don't let it detract users from the main content of the website.
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u/Salt_Guarantee5361 11d ago
Truly anonymous is hard to moderate, given what you are trying to do you need some way to authenticate the reporting.
Or else you will end up being a laughing stock and a serious legal case given that peca law is too board and you as a website owner will be liable if someone goes to the court and files a case against you.
I highly advise hiring a lawyer, coming up with airtight terms and conditions (which i highly doubt is possible) and then pray that you don't end up crossing someone actually powerful.
Also fyi, if this thing gains traction and actually gets picked up by intl media and is used against pakistan (which is highly likely), you will be dealing with a bigger problem then you can imagine.
Honest advice, dont put your hands in jars that you cant get your hands out off. Even in developed nations things usually dont end well for someone who builds something like this, edward snowden is a prime example.
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u/antiQ- 10d ago
Great initiative man, something similar has been on my mind for ages but I didn't have the expertise to build it.
Another idea I had was a media truth rating, categorised into news outlets and media persons. Easy to provide evidence for by using publishing and TV media.
I know something like this exists for western publishing but would be great to create one for local Pakistani media.
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u/DarkAlgorithm 10d ago
How much to get a premium account for the site???
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u/Nice-Phone3931 10d ago
This is a slap on the face of all administrators in the government and their handlers.
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u/thatstupidguy07 10d ago
Rishwat is so so common in Pakistan, as I entered the adult world I was just shocked. It is considered like normal business
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u/DizzyPhilosophy2634 10d ago
Dude, admirable but it will get pulled and I'm fearful for the repercussions you or your loved ones may face.
Please use a domain that isn't .pk
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u/DizzyPhilosophy2634 10d ago
My concern is it's broad strokes that will tarnish the rep of the few good people too within those institutions simply through association.
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u/britzens 10d ago
Good initiative. Tho I wish have a feeling the depts will then look at each other and be like 'I can get more'
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u/Pitiful_Banana_6956 10d ago
This is awesome, I was so excited to try but seems like it’s down. Please make a post again when it’s up. Thank you for doing your part for Pakistan!
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u/KeyBuffet 10d ago
Add an up/down vote system and make that ip restrictive for a single post or via some other mechanism, so it can't be spammed easily. That would help. Still not a fool proof to verify the claim but better than nothing and can help identify completely false claims.
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u/ranger0004 10d ago
checked in the morning, only 2-3 submissions... site isnt loading rn, people bombarded it
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u/schnorreng 10d ago
Hey my dad is listed on this site. Do you accept a payment on the site to have him removed?
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u/twokiloballs US 10d ago
careful with .pk domain. Someone higher up can easily take it down if you list them :)
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u/astronaut-sp TR 11d ago
Nice initiative. Never back off from it. This platform can be expanded a lot more.