NAB accused of everything other than spreading Covid-19: Javed Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the opposition’s allegations that NAB was conducting political engineering and victimization, Chairman National Accountability Bureau Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said on Tuesday NAB was being accused of all the ills of the country except coronavirus pandemic.

“Those hurling allegations are the ones against whom NAB investigated graft charges or pursuing corruption references and if anyone thinks that he was being victimized, he must approach the court to clear his name,” he said while addressing businessmen and traders at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Rejecting the notion of political engineering, he said NAB had nothing to do with the politics. “If my engineering were any good, then I would have retired as an engineer instead of a judge,” he said.

He said some people say that the NAB and Pakistan cannot coexist but he says instead corruption and Pakistan cannot co-exist.

He said NAB was pursuing the cases of those who were penniless in 1980s, but today they owned multistoryed buildings. “I am surprised where did they manage to get so much money and also referred to the case of a motorcyclist who amassed so much wealth that he now owns towers in Dubai.” He said the NAB was taking action under law against all the untouchables of the past for their illegal actions, misuse of authority, assets beyond known sources of income, money laundering and inflicting losses to national exchequer.

The chairman NAB said wheat was embezzled from one province and officials said that it was consumed by rats and when those “fat rats” were caught by the NAB, Rs10 billion to Rs15 billion were recovered from them. He said, “Someone had to stand up against corruption and that is what the NAB was doing.” The chairman NAB said only when he goes away from NAB, then he will reveal how much pressure, threats and offers were made to him while serving the anti-graft organisation. Rejecting the allegations that businessmen are leaving the country due to NAB’s harassment, Justice Iqbal said if that allegation was proven, he was prepared to go home and dismissed them as rumours. The chairman said out of 1,235 NAB references under trial in Accountability Courts, not more than one percent are related to the business community which clearly negates the sinister propaganda. Denying any deaths in the NAB custody, he said the NAB has never humiliated any suspect and any suspect suffering from illness is immediately taken to hospital.

He said NAB would never take any action against genuine businessman who are promoting business, providing jobs, increasing exports and bringing foreign exchange to the country. Iqbal said NAB never asks businessman about the sources of his capital and investment except in cases of money laundering. Similarly, he said NAB has never stopped any investment project. He said the NAB officers are under clear instructions not to summarily summon any businessman to NAB office nor humiliate them in any manner. In order to redress the complaints of business, the chairman said he had appointed one full time Director each in the NAB HQs and regional offices, but no complaints were ever sent to them. He said that ICCI can send him complaints and he would dispose them within 30 days except for the sub-judice cases. He said he was even prepared to provide a NAB desk in ICCI for better coordination. He said he was even personally available on the last Thursday of every month to address complaints.

He said that NAB recovered around Rs.5 billion from two housing societies and returned that to the people in Islamabad/Rawalpindi and Lahore. During his tenure alone, NAB has recovered Rs.487 billion and filed 1,235 references in court. He said that NAB also recovered billions of dollars from the kingmakers. He said that NAB was working only to protect the interests of Pakistan and would never be blackmailed. He said that only 25-30 judges were dealing with 1,235 references in NAB courts and called for increasing their strength for speedy trial of the graft cases.

In his speech, the chairman NAB narrated how he was defrauded by a private housing society after retirement and despite depositing money he could not get possession of the property for several years. “Once I became the NAB chairman, people from the society’s management came to me and handed me a cheque of Rs4.5million,” which I refused and told them to first return the amount to all the other allottees. Speaking at the occasion, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, said that NAB’s positive role was acknowledged by Transparency International, World Economic Forum and many other international bodies, which showed its constructive services. He said the government should focus on promoting ease of doing business. He asked NAB to open a Facilitation Desk at ICCI to assist the business community. The representatives of Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Sialkot, Bhawalpur, Karachi and other chambers of commerce & Industry also attended the meeting through video link and highlighted their concerns to the chairman NAB.