The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has approved a new inquiry against Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, according to a notification issued by the anti-graft watchdog on Wednesday. As per notification, the approvals for two references and eight new inquiries were approved during a meeting of the NAB Executive Board presided over by the body’s chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal. Corruption references against former Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi and former director-general of Parks and Horticulture, Karachi, Liaquat Ali Khan, were also approved. The eight new inquiries approved by the NAB Executive Board included one against Shehbaz Sharif, the notification read. The prior inquiries against former finance minister Ishaq Dar and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Khan Durrani were closed due to a lack of evidence, it said. The EBM also okayed closing inquiries against Tariq Bajwa, former chairman of the FBR and Nasir Mehmood Abbasi owing to lack of evidence. The meeting reviewed the closure of Rosevelt Hotel after hundred years and it was decided to review the ToRs of a committee which was constituted by the government on the matter. Addressing the meeting, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal said that the corruption is the root-cause of all ills being confronted by the country. “A major surgery is needed to eradicate the menace. Eradication of corruption and corruption-free Pakistan is topmost priority of NAB,” he said, adding that NAB is pursuing the policy of corruption-free Pakistan. “NAB has no affiliation with any individual or political party or group but with the state of Pakistan,” he further said. “NAB has so far recovered Rs 714 billion, and the incumbent leadership has recovered Rs 487 billion directly or indirectly from the corrupt elements,” he added. The NAB chairman directed the relevant officials to complete investigations and pursue the cases in accountability courts. “NAB is a human-friendly institution where the self-esteem of visiting persons is kept supreme,” he added.