NAB recovered Rs5,400bn in last two years: chairman

LAHORE: Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmad, held an important visit to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) on Thursday. He was welcomed by President LCCI Mian Abuzar Shad, along with the LCCI core committee members, who provided him with a comprehensive briefing.

During this high-profile visit, the NAB chairman was accompanied by Director General (DG) NAB Lahore, Muhammad Ahtram Dar, DG Operations NAB Amjad Majeed Aulakh, DG NAB Rawalpindi Waqar Ahmad Chauhan, DG NAB Multan Engr Masood Alam Khan, along with other senior NAB officials.

The briefing session was also attended by LCCI Senior Vice President Engr Khalid Usman, Vice President Shahid Chaudhry, executive committee members and representatives from other chambers across Punjab.

In his address to the business community, NAB chairman remarked that upon assuming office two years ago, the situation was notably different, and concerns prevailed among the business community, bureaucracy and political circles. Keeping this in view, NAB introduced several institutional reforms aimed at rebuilding trust, among the business community, bureaucratic sector and others. All these efforts have yielded numerous substantial and positive outcomes. He further revealed that NAB recovered Rs5,400 billion — both directly and indirectly — over the past two years. Notably, there have been no complaints of character assassination or reputational damage by NAB during this period, while efforts to return billions to the national exchequer have continued unabated, he said.

Highlighting another key reform, he stated that the filing of frivolous and anonymous complaints has been effectively curtailed. During the last year, NAB received approximately 18,000 complaints, of which 86 percent were found to be baseless.

To enhance citizen facilitation, NAB has introduced WhatsApp groups for direct communication with complainants. Furthermore, the Bureau is undergoing a comprehensive digital transformation to align its operations with modern-day requirements.

LCCI President, Mian Abuzar Shad acknowledged the unmatched sacrifices rendered by the armed forces for the nation’s safety and reaffirmed the full support of the business community to defence forces and stressed their unwavering commitment to national defence.

He further pledged LCCI’s complete cooperation with NAB in combating corruption.

The LCCI president expressed concern over the outflow of capital, revealing that within the past year alone, $10 billion had been transferred abroad and 4,200 companies were registered outside Pakistan, a trend that could potentially undermine national economic performance.

As part of the visit, NAB chairman also inaugurated the NAB Business Facilitation Center at LCCI.