No clue about spending of billions of dollars loan: NAB chairman

LAHORE: Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal on Wednesday said the NAB was committed to eradicating corruption for the country’s progress.

Addressing a ceremony organised by the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) here, the NAB chairman said corruption was the root cause of all evils as it hindered development of the country. The chairman said NAB had directly or indirectly recovered the looted money of Rs 71 billion and deposited it in the national exchequer during the last 22 months, adding that NAB was mandated to probe the accused about looted state money and it would continue to perform its responsibilities.

He said NAB is loyal to Pakistan as there are often changes in governments. “Today we have to pay loans worth billions of dollars. There is no clue to where these dollars were spent. When the NAB asks about this money, what’s wrong with that?” he said.

Javed Iqbal said NAB believed in the rule of law as it had no affiliation with any group or individual. NAB had filed 1,230 references pertaining to about Rs900 billion in accountability courts, he said and added that it was also decided to submit applications in accountability courts for early hearing of filed references.

Dispelling the impression that the bureau was hindering national development, the NAB chairman said the NAB doors were open for all, including business community and bureaucracy. "We do not believe in victimisation", he added.

Javed Iqbal said national and international organisations had lauded the performance of the NAB to eliminate corruption, adding as per a Gallup survey, 59 per cent people have complete trust in the NAB.

The chairman also appreciated the performance of KEMU and said it had great reputation not only in Pakistan but also across the world for providing healthcare professional high quality knowledge, exceptional skill sets and empathy.

Later, KEMU Vice Chancellor Khalid Masood presented a book and a shield to the NAB Chairman. DG NAB Lahore Shehzad Saleem also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the major achievements made by the Regional Bureau and expressed that only the NAB Lahore has recovered Rs 31 billion as an indirect recovery and Rs 8 billion as direct recovery in corruption cases during last 22 months which has been a great achievement.