ISLAMABAD: Chairman National Accountability Bureau Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has said out of 179 mega corruption cases, NAB has not only brought 66 mega corruption cases to a logical conclusion but also the Accountability Courts had convicted 1,194 accused persons due to vigorous prosecution of NAB as per law.
“The NAB has not only apprehended ‘untouchables’ for the first time in its history but it is also pursuing the cases against the corrupt elements in the courts on the basis of solid evidence. During the current tenure of the NAB administration, between October 2017 and November 30, 2021, about 1,194 accused were convicted by the Accountability Courts,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB is determined to bring mega corruption cases to the logical conclusion like money laundering, fake account, assets beyond known sources of income, cheating public at large, housing societies and Modaraba cases by utilising all its resources as per law. “Out of 179 mega-corruption cases, 66 had already been brought to a logical conclusion, while 94 mega corruption cases are still under trial in the accountability court,” he said, adding corruption is the biggest obstacle in the way of development and prosperity of the country.
NAB is a focal organisation of Pakistan under the United National Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). NAB is pursuing the policies of ‘accountability for all’ aiming to make Pakistan corruption free. NAB is the role model for the SAARC anti-corruption forum, he said.
He said the NAB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to oversee the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects being completed in Pakistan, adding the NAB has introduced a Combine Investigation Team (CIT) system to benefit collective wisdom of supervisory officers so that the corrupt elements could not go scot-free.
He said the NAB has established a forensic laboratory having facilities of digital forensic, question documents and finger prints’ analysis. The performance of NAB has improved with those measures. NAB has devised a comprehensive Quantified Grading System to improve performance.
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB had fixed a period of 10 months to conclude a case from complaint verification to investigation; — two months time complaint verification, four months inquiry and four months investigations in each case. He said the NAB has also set up Witness Handling Cells in all regional bureaus as a result of this move, NAB is pursuing its cases in the courts on the basis of solid documentary evidence. “The overall conviction rate in NAB cases is 66 percent,” he said.
The NAB chairman has directed all NAB officers to redouble their efforts to make Pakistan corruption free. He directed all the officers of NAB to consider the eradication of corruption as their national duty and perform it with determination, merit, hard work and transparency.
The chairman NAB said the credible national and international organisations like Transparency International, PILDAT, World Economic Forum, Mashaal Pakistan, etc, have expressed full confidence in NAB’s initiatives. He said according to the results of a survey conducted by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, 59 percent Pakistanis expressed their satisfaction over the NAB’s performance.