NAB devises mechanism for smooth prosecution

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, has said the Bureau is committed to apprehending corrupt elements, eradication of corruption, recovery of looted money, curbing money laundering, and misuse of authority to their logical conclusions according to the law.

While chairing a meeting to review NAB’s overall performances, Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said, “The NAB has no affiliation with any political party, group or individual but with the State of Pakistan.” He said the anti-corruption strategy of NAB has started yielding positive results as over 59 percent people reposed confidence in NAB policies according to Gilani and Gallop surveys. The chairman said the NAB is the focal institution according to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), adding that the NAB is a role model according to anti-corruption institute of SAARC countries. He said the NAB has prescribed at its own 10 months time for concluding the complaints, verification, inquiries and investigations, so the corrupt elements could be brought to justice as soon as possible.

The chairman NAB said a new concept of the combined investigation team (CIJ) has been introduced in the NAB, comprising director general, additional director, case officer, two investigation officers, legal consultant, financial expert and forensic expert in order to benefit from the collective wisdom. He said the executive and regional boards have been constituted for having comprehensive deliberations of all aspects of the cases with regard to ensuring solid documentary evidence, statements of the accused and witnesses, etc., so that the cases should be completed timely with all aspects and corrupt elements should be brought to the justice.

Justice Javed Iqbal said the NAB has also introduced self-accountability system, including evaluation of performance of the NAB headquarters and all regional bureaus in qualitative and quantitative terms for improving the performance of NAB. The positive results of all these initiatives have started pouring in. The chairman said the bureau always gives importance to the training of its investigation officers and prosecutors on modern lines. “NAB has not only devised training and refresher courses for its officers for capacity building but ensured that it should also be held under the supervision of experienced and professional experts,” he said.

The chairman NAB said the main aim of the training was to enhance the capabilities of investigation officers and prosecutors so that they could fight the cases and complete the preparation vigorously in the respected courts of law. He said the NAB officers consider eradication of corruption as their national duty. “The increase in numbers of complaints during the current management of the NAB shows the enhanced confidence in Bureau by the people,” he said. He said the NAB has established a state of the art forensic laboratory at NAB Rawalpindi, which has facilities of digital forensic, question documents and finger print analysis.

Javed Iqbal said the laboratory provides assistance in conducting inquiries and investigation with the solid evidence on the basis of forensic analysis. Due to this reason, he said the NAB has conviction ratio of 68.88 percent, which is more as compared to other such anti-corruption institutions in Pakistan. “The reputed national and international institutions have appreciated the performance of NAB from time to time, which gives encouragement to the NAB officers and also brings honour for Pakistan,” he added. The chairman NAB directed that the complaint verification, inquiries and investigations should be completed by all regional bureaus in accordance with the law, and further directed to ensure self-respect of every individual as the NAB should become a people-friendly institution. He said the main purpose of the NAB is to eradicate corruption, recover the looted money from the culprits and deposit into the national exchequer.