NAB chairman declares resolve to corruption-free Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, said on Wednesday that the NAB has tightened procedures to bring corrupt individuals under the ambit of its accountability mechanism to achieve the goal of corruption-free Pakistan.

The chairman NAB said the Bureau has no affiliation with any individual, political party or group, as the NAB officers have been performing their national duties to eradicate the menace of corruption from society. “Corruption is the mother of all crimes, is a great hurdle against the progress and prosperity of the country”. He said the NAB enjoyed the position of a role model among all the SAARC countries, while Pakistan and China have signed an MoU to eradicate corruption. “Both the countries have been working together to bringing transparency, especially in the financial sector,” he added.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB is the focal institute as per the UN’s anti-corruption convention, which is an honour for the country, saying the NAB has established an academy on modern lines to train the newly-recruited officers. He said the Bureau has recovered Rs714 billion from the corrupt elements and deposited the amount to the national exchequer. He said the NAB has achieved 68.6 percent of conviction ratio. The Bureau has been utilising all available resources to apprehend proclaimed offenders and get them punished from the court of law, adding that a total 1,130 corruption cases were under trial in different courts. The chairman said the NAB has investigated 56 public limited companies, offshore companies, fake account, money laundering and Modarba scams.

Talking about the plea bargain policy of the NAB, he said plea bargain is considered as confession of the crime and the deal could only be struck with the consent of relevant accountability courts. He said the NAB always gives importance to the business community as it has a significant role in the country’s progress and prosperity. He said establishing a special cell for addressing the grievances of the business community is an attempt to resolve the issues pertaining to business activities. He said the NAB officials had already been directed to deal with the visiting accused, especially the government officers, with respect.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB has recovered a sum of Rs487 billion during his tenure and deposited the amount to the national exchequer. He said the NAB has established a modern forensic laboratory as well as setting up a 10-month time-frame to conclude the cases.

He said the Bureau has also introduced a new system of Combine Investigation Team (CIT) in order to benefit from the experiences and collective wisdoms of superior officers. Elaborating the CIT mechanism, he said it has not only brought quality to the overall work procedures but also assured that not a single individual could influence the proceedings and results of the CIT and it was very encouraging.