NAB chief orders for taking mega corruption cases to logical end

ISLAMABAD: NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal (retd) ordered the directors general of the regional bureaus that mega corruption cases against big fish should be taken to logical conclusion as per law.

“All mega corruption cases against big fish should be taken to logical conclusion within the prescribed time frame so that they should be brought to justice in order to recover the looted money and deposit it in the national exchequer considering it our national duty,” he directed all the directors general of regional bureaus Sunday.

He also directed the DGs that all inquiries, complaints and investigations should be completed on merit and transparency and based on solid evidence and documentary proof. “We should strictly follow the policy of merit, transparency and necessary measures should be taken against all those who are involved in corruption through pursuing policy of zero tolerance, transparency and merit as per law,” he added. The NAB chairman directed the officers to work with due diligence and honesty. He said the NAB is one of the best anti-corruption organisations as compared to other organizations.

He directed the DGs concerned to submit the latest report of all mega corruption cases as well as cases of illegal housing societies so that progress on ongoing cases could be reviewed accordingly. He said the NAB is absolutely committed to eradicating corruption through effective National Anti-Corruption Strategy. He said comparative figures for the last three years are indicative of NAB’s excellent performance.

He said 59 percent people have shown confidence in the NAB as per the report of Gilani and Gallup Survey. He said the NAB had filed 1230 corruption references in accountability courts which are under trial in the accountability courts having worth of Rs947 billion.

He said the NAB has established a state-of-the-art Forensic Science Lab in the NAB Rawalpindi Bureau which has facilities of digital forensics, questioned documents and fingerprint analysis which is being utilised for further improvement in the quality of inquiries and investigations in all respects. He said the NAB has introduced a new concept of Combine Investigation Team (CIT) to benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior supervisory officers, a system of CIT consisting of director, additional director, investigation officer and a senior legal counsel has been put in place.

“This is not only lending quality to the work but also ensuring that no single individual can influence the official proceedings of the NAB. He said the NAB has signed a MoU with China to oversee CPEC projects in Pakistan,” he added. He said the youth is our future; the NAB has signed a MoU with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to make the youth aware of the ill-effects of corruption at an early age. “More than 50,000 character building societies have been established in colleges and universities of the country,” he further added. He said the Transparency International (TI) Pakistan, World Economic Forum, PILDAT and Mishal have appreciated NAB’s efforts in eradication of corruption. He said the NAB has devised a comprehensive quantified grading system to further improve the performance of the NAB headquarters and all the regional bureaus.

Under the quantified grading system, he said the NAB headquarters and regional bureaus are being evaluated on an annual and mid-term basis at a given criteria which has proved successful and the performance of regional bureaus is increasing daily due to regular monitoring and inspection. The NAB chairman directed all the regional bureaus to ensure self-respect of every person as the anti-graft body is a people-friendly organisation that believes in corruption-free Pakistan.