No political or apolitical pressure on me: NAB chief

No complaint can be brushed under the carpet; accountability officers don’t pocket commission; entire recovered amount is distributed among victims; no friend ever forced me to let any accused off the hook; nation must conduct self-accountability to earn respect in the eyes of the international community

ISLAMABAD: Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Sunday said there was no political or apolitical pressure on him and emphasised the need for self-accountability in all walks of life.

In an informal chat with a group of journalists here, the top accountability officer said no complaint could be brushed under the carpet, as the bureau strictly followed a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with complaints.

“I have been in government service for 40 years. Friends do phone me off and on, but none of them ever forced me to let a guilty person off the hook. No complaint can be binned in the bureau, as every director general (DG) has to take decisions on the admissibility of incoming complaints within two months,” said Chaudhry.

“A reference takes 10 months to land in court. Scrutiny takes two months while investigation requires four months and in the rest of the four months, the investigation is completed and the reference filed with the court.”

Chaudhry made it clear that no accountability officer pocketed commission in any inquiry,
as the entire recovered amount was distributed among the victims. He said the actual amount was recovered along with profit through the plea bargain.

Chaudhry said a convicted government employee had to lose his job while a politician could not hold any government position for 10 years in case of conviction. He said action was also taken on the identification of any malpractice or wrongdoing in the bureau. Chaudhry said it was his desire that we as a nation conduct our own accountability and rise as a good nation among the comity of nations.