ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal Tuesday said that the bureau could not produce desired results without bringing reforms in the system.
He was addressing an event of returning money to the corruption cases’ affectees here at the NAB headquarters. The NAB chairman said it would be a quite difficult task to meet 100 percent desired results, until and unless the loopholes in the system be removed and the cases to be dealt on the fast-track basis. He said despite of all hurdles, the conviction rate had jumped above 59 percent. The shortcomings could not be resolved over a night as it would take a due course of time to streamline the system, he added.
He, particularly highlighting the four-year performance of NAB, said 2,460 inquiries were held, 820 investigations were conducted and 1,237 references involving Rs 1,335 billion were pending with the various NAB courts. He said if pending cases could not reach their logical conclusion, it was due to the centuries old system being practiced in 2022. The chairman said if the international organizations were eulogizing the national anti-graft watchdog, it was just because of its extraordinary services and performance. He urged the people to have first-hand information about the subject, legal process and steps taken by the quarter concerned before criticizing the national institution of accountability. He lamented that almost 75 percent critics had not taken the view point of NAB till to date.
Lauding the splendid performance of NAB Director General Rawalpindi Irfan Naeem Mangi and his team, he informed that the recovered funds Rs1,950 million were being distributed among the 8,500 affected people of the National House Building and Road Development Corporation while 1,080 million in the Gulshan Rehman Housing Scheme or Accurate Builders and Contractors Private Limited’s affectees via claques. He said in NAB, the ratio of complaints of corruption was very thin because NAB had initiated 400 disciplinary actions so far, in which, 200 inquiries had completed and some of them were at their final stages. Brushing aside the impression of doing others accountability, he said NAB had a proper mechanism to hold its own staffers accountable as well.
He said the record of all funds recovered by NAB so far was available with complete audit and anyone could oversee it if doubted. Earlier, he also appreciated the unwavering efforts of NAB Director Information Nawazish Asim who burnt the midnight oil even during the days he tested positive for COVID-19 to project the positive image of NAB in media.