Fight against corruption top priority: NAB chairman

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of National Accountability Bureau Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has said corruption is estimated to cost the world at least $2.6 trillion annually, approximately five percent of the global GDP.

“It is estimated that $1.26 trillion are lost by the developing countries to corruption each year,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

Justice (retd) Javed said NAB continues to give high priority to the fight against corruption. “We believe that corruption should be prevented in all its forms and manifestations,” he said. He said the NAB’s commitment to eradicate corruption from the country is across the board as per law.

He said NAB would not spare those who have devoured billions of rupees of innocent Pakistanis.

He said the NAB considered the case, not the face behind it and whoever will commit corruption will be brought to justice as per law. “The NAB has no affiliation with any individual, party or organisation but with the country and is performing its duties,” he said. He said that NAB is pursuing a policy of accountability for all. He said eradication of corruption has become the voice of the whole nation as it not only halts the progress of the country but also usurps the rights of deserving people.

The chairman NAB said Pakistan is facing the challenge of corruption which is the root cause of all problems being endured by the country.

He said NAB has chalked out a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy comprising awareness, prevention and enforcement under the “Accountability for All” policy. “We are overhauling working procedures in order to make NAB a more credible and reputed organisation to eradicate corruption in all its forms and manifestations,” he said.

The chairman NAB said the bureau has been rejuvenated by implementing his Accountability for All Policy across-the-board under the slogan of “NAB’s Faith-Corruption free Pakistan" and the results have yielded excellent dividends. “Well-Reputed national and international organisations like Transparency International Pakistan, World Economic Forum, PILDAT and Mishal Pakistan have not only lauded NAB’s efforts for eradication of corruption but in the Gillani and Gallup surveys about 59 percent people have shown their confidence in NAB,” he said. He said NAB has recovered a staggering sum of Rs533 billion from corrupt elements directly and indirectly from 2018 to 2020 that no one previously had ever been able to accomplish since the establishment of the anti-corruption watchdog in 1999, besides overall recovery of Rs814 billion. NAB has filed 1,273 corruption references in various learned Accountability Courts, which are under adjudication and their approximately worth is 950 billion.

He said not just in Pakistan alone, NAB has now emerged as a role model for countries under the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which includes India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. NAB heads the SAARC anti-corruption forum. “It is a focal organisation for Pakistan under the United Convention against Corruption (UNCAC),” he said.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB has also signed a unique Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China to extend cooperation in tackling corruption and to oversee CEPC projects being under process in Pakistan.

Among other achievements of NAB, he said it has established a state of the Art Forensic Science Laboratory in NAB Rawalpindi besides establishing its own Pakistan Anti-Corruption Training Academy at NAB headquarters. He said the academy is meant to train and equip its investigation officers with modern techniques to investigate white collar crimes on the basis of lessons learnt in order to eradicate corruption.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Higher Education Commission to spread awareness among students at universities/colleges level as part of NAB’s vision to make our future leadership aware of the effects of corruption.

He said it is a remarkable effort. In this regard, over 50,000 Character Building Societies (CBS) have been established in Universities/Colleges throughout the country. In order to streamline the working of NAB, he said NAB has also ensured that a highest degree of transparency and merit is maintained at all levels of enforcement. “From complaint verification to the final stage of filing a reference, full level of transparency is maintained, guided, supervised and closely watched and an innovative concept of combined investigation team has been introduced in order to benefit from collective wisdom and to improve the quality of investigation on the basis of solid evidence as per law,” he said.

The chairman NAB said that NAB strongly believes in self accountability besides accountability of others.

He said that NAB is committed for logical conclusion of cases of fake and illegal housing societies for depriving the poor investors from their hard earned money.

“The poor investors are running from pillar to post to get their money back. NAB has great regard for the business community which is playing an important role in the country's progress,” he said.