Chairman bars NAB officers from media interviews

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal on Monday barred all officers from giving any media interviews, after opposition politicians accused its top official in Lahore of conducting a "media trial".

In a statement, Justice (R) Javed Iqbal said only the Bureau's spokesperson would be responsible for giving the NAB's version to the media and public. “The NAB respects all the honourable members of the assembly,” the chairman said. He added that the Bureau has sought record of media interviews by the NAB Director-General Lahore Maj (R) Shahzad Saleem from the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Last week, leaders of opposition parties accused Shahzad Saleem of carrying out a "media trial" of opposition politicians and tabled a privilege motion in the National Assembly urging the "immediate intervention" of the House in the matter.

On Thursday, Shahzad Saleem appeared on at least five political talk shows on different TV channels to talk about the ongoing corruption allegations against former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Appearing on Geo News' show 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', Shahzad Saleem had said that the anti-corruption watchdog would file a reference by the end of this month against Shahbaz, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Earlier in the day, the NAB chairman was briefed at the Bureau's office in Lahore on major corruption cases and the matter pertaining to the director-general's TV interviews.

The NAB chairman said the NAB’s top priority was logical conclusion of the mega corruption cases to eradicate the menace of corruption from the country. “The NAB chalked out a comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy to eradicate corruption across the board by adopting ‘Accountability for All’ policy,” he said. The NAB chairman directed the concerned officers to conclude complaint verification , inquiries and investigations within 10 months period in light of concrete evidence.