NAB chief vows to protect business community

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt. Gen. (retd) Nazir Ahmed on Monday reaffirmed NAB’s commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment, assuring the business community of protection against harassment and full institutional support for economic progress.

Addressing businessmen at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Capital Office, Nazir Ahmed said, “No country can progress if its business community feels insecure. Where there is harassment, business cannot thrive.” He was accompanied by NAB Rawalpindi Director General Waqar Ahmed Chauhan.

The NAB chief stressed that the country’s future lies in bold, growth-oriented economic reforms. “Your problems are my problems. Do not succumb to undue pressure,” he told business leaders, adding, “It is NAB’s duty to shield you from harassment.” He urged entrepreneurs to help transform Pakistan into a ‘trillion-dollar economy’, citing the country’s natural resources, fertile land, and talented youth as key assets. “We were not created to beg — but to build,” he said, questioning Pakistan’s long-standing reliance on IMF loans.

Nazir Ahmed highlighted that NAB had recovered Rs780 billion between 2001 and 2024, but in 2025 alone, recoveries surged to Rs6,000 billion — without a single arrest or incident of coercion. “This proves that accountability and business facilitation can go hand-in-hand,” he remarked. The chairman also introduced a five-point reform plan to address systemic corruption in the real estate sector, terming fraudulent housing societies a “chronic disease”. Key reforms include:

1. Inclusion of regulators in all real estate transactions. 2. Complete ban on cash transactions in housing projects. 3. Abolition of file-based sales — only land-backed projects to be allowed. 4. Strict scrutiny of ownership documents and land title verification. 5. Enforcement through banking channels for all payments.

He further pledged zero tolerance for NAB officers engaging in harassment, promising that any such complaint would be handled strictly on merit.

FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh welcomed the NAB chairman’s vision and stressed the need for stronger collaboration between NAB and the business community. “Past instances of harassment created fear among businessmen. But we support the new direction focused on facilitation and mutual trust,” he said.

Prominent business leaders, including Saquib Fayaz Magoo, Tariq Jadoon, Karim Aziz Malik, Ghazanfar Bilour, and Tariq Sadiq, also attended the meeting. A commemorative crest was presented to the NAB chairman, as both sides discussed key challenges and future cooperation. Nazir Ahmed concluded with a message of optimism: “Let’s build a corruption-free, confident, and prosperous Pakistan together.”