ISLAMABAD: NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has said that eradication of corruption is the top most priority of the bureau.
He expressed these remarks while addressing as chief guest a cheque distribution ceremony where affectees of three housing societies namely Shaheen Foundation, Tele Town Housing Societies and Chargia Housing Society Wah were compensated for their losses.
The ceremony was held at the NAB Rawalpindi headquarters.
Speaking at the occasion, Iqbal said NAB officers are performing their duties in the best interest of the nation. He said NAB Rawalpindi is a flagship regional bureau of NAB which has always played a prominent role in the bureau’s overall performance.
The NAB chairman said that corruption is mother of all evils and is a major hurdle in the development and prosperity of the country. NAB is committed to nab the corrupt elements under its “accountability for all” policy, he said, adding that the bureau has perfected its procedures and it was working hard to meet the expectations of the nation.
He said that NAB Rawalpindi is very actively pursuing the cause of elimination of corruption and corrupt practices through a holistic approach of Awareness, Prevention and Enforcement by adopting Zero Tolerance Policy.
He said that due to NAB’s proactive Anti-Corruption Strategy and excellent performance for eradication of corruption in the country, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Pakistan has continuously been decreased due to NAB’s efforts which was appreciated by reputed national and international reputable organizations like PILDAT, MISHAL, Gillani and Gallop Survey, Transparency International and World Economic Forum.
Iqbal further said that NAB during the last one year has worked with absolute professionalism, transparency, commitment, dedication and merit which its officers are putting in with best of their abilities.
Due to this reason, today NAB has become a vibrant organization. He said that our success as country’s biggest apex anti-corruption agency inspires us to redouble our efforts in performance of our national duty with more professionalism, dedication and commitment to eradicate the menace of corruption from our beloved motherland Pakistan in all its forms and manifestations.
He said that our overall conviction ratio is trial court is more than 70 percent and our performance remained excellent during 2018 as compared to other Anti-Corruption Organizations.
He said NAB from its inception recovered Rs. 297 billion from corrupt elements and deposited in the national exchequer which is a record achievement as no other Anti Corruption agency in Pakistan has recovered such a huge amount. He said that today NAB’s about 1210 corruption references are under trial and their approximately amount is Rs. 900 billion.
He said that NAB is the first chairman of SAARC Anti-Corruption Forum. NAB is the only organisation in the world with whom China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to streamline cooperation in the field of anti-corruption and oversee projects being undertaken China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said that NAB has established its first Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in NAB Rawalpindi-Islamabad which has facilities of Digital Forensics, Questioned Documents and Fingerprint Analysis.
He said that NAB has rationalized its workload and timelines have been prescribed for efficient, effective and expeditious disposal of cases putting a maximum limit of 10 months – from complaint verification-to-inquiry-to-investigation and finally to a reference in the Accountability Court.
He said that NAB has also introduced a new System of Combine Investigation Team (CIT) in order to benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior supervisory officers, a system of CIT comprising of Director, Additional Director, Investigation Officer and a Senior Legal Counsel has been put in place.
While speaking at the occasion Mr. Irfan Naeem Mangi, DG NAB Rawalpindi said that on the direction of Chairman NAB, a separate complaint Cell was established in NAB Rawalpindi.
NAB Rawalpindi has received 7841 complaints during 2018 and more than 7000 complaints were disposed off as per law. These numbers of complaints were higher ever in the history of NAB Rawalpindi as compared to last five years.
He said that NAB Rawalpindi conducted various Complaints Verification, inquiries and investigations and filed 50 corruption references in the respected Accountability Courts during 2018 and recovered Rs. 218 million from corrupt elements and dispersed among the various government departments and affectees of various housing societies/cooperative societies etc. He said that NAB Rawalpindi has arrested 50 accused persons in 2018 which is highest ever number for NAB Rawalpindi in any year.
Published in Daily Times, January 2nd 2019