The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday said it not only respected bureaucracy but also acknowledged its services as it was the jugular vein of country. Rejecting the statement of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin that the “bureaucracy is not working due to fear of NAB”, a Bureau spokesman said out of 1,273 references of Rs 1,300 billion corruption under trial in different accountability courts, only negligible ones were against bureaucracy. Such statements were aimed at discouraging bureaucracy, he added. The spokesman said NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal had served the country in different capacities and he was quite well versed with the issues of bureaucracy. The Bureau, he said, was established in 1999 for eradication of corruption and recovery of looted money. It had recovered some Rs 286.755 billion directly or indirectly from 1999 to 2016, and Rs 502 billion under the leadership of incumbent chairman from 2017 to 2020. All the details about the Bureau’s performance of bureau were available at its website, he added.