LAHORE:National Accountability Bureau Chairman Lt. Gen. (retd) Nazir Ahmed has said efforts are being made to bring about more reforms and improvements in NAB system so that its mission to eliminate corruption and redress people’s grievances can be carries out more effectively and efficiently.
Addressing a cheque distribution ceremony among affectees of four housing societies, he said that it was NAB’s responsibility to hand over the recovered amount to the affectees in a transparent manner.
The chairman said that NAB’s Lahore region had contributed significantly to the efforts against corruption, as it made possible recoveries of billions of rupees in various housing sector scams and returned the money to the affectees.
Lt. Gen. (retd) Nazir Ahmed said that direct recoveries of about Rs 100 billion were made possible by NAB during the last 15 to 20 years. He said that in the past, attempts were made to politicise NAB by using it as a tool for political engineering, due to which it had to face severe criticism by other institutions including judiciary, but now reforms were being introduced in the Bureau to overcome the anomalies or issues for reviving its reputation and taking elaborative actions against corruption.
He said that had NAB been working efficiently, country’s corruption index should have been improved, but the international corruption indexes had shown a decline in Pakistan’s position in efforts and parameters against corruption.
The chairman said that victim driven policy was being adopted by NAB to resolve issues faced by people pertaining to dealing with NAB officials and corruption scams, adding that in this regard, ‘Kutchehri’ or ‘Bethak’ system would be introduced from Lahore region on monthly basis, where the DG NAB would listen to grievances of people and suggest measures for their resolution.
Lt. Gen. (retd) Nazir Ahmed said that now NAB was genuinely apolitical, as it only aimed to work against corruption and corrupt elements, and its struggle would continue until complete elimination of corruption.
Action against corruption, white-collar crimes and others were among top priorities of NAB, he said and added that corruption scandals erupted frequently despite action being taken against corruption. It was also NAB’s fundamental duty to amend or upgrade the existing laws pertaining to corruption and corrupt practices, he added.
Existing laws regarding corruption were being reviewed, and if needed, amendments would be made within next three months for taking an effective action against corruption, he asserted.
The chairman said, “We believe in less projection, but more results to facilitate people as early as possible.” He said investment of traders, businessmen, investors and people would be protected at any cost.
Lt. Gen. (retd) Nazir Ahmed highlighted that a mechanism was being evolved by NAB after which the matters would not be limited to buyer or developer but a regulator would also emerge to avoid fraud or corruption in housing schemes’ sector.
The chairman also appreciated the performance of NAB Lahore team for effectively resolving cases and recovering the amount from the accused and said that the team officials would be rewarded. He also directed the NAB officials to conclude the cases within months not years so that people could get justice as early as possible, adding that not negative propaganda but constructive criticism, would always be welcomed for betterment of NAB.
Earlier, the NAB chairman NAB handed over cheques to affectees of four housing societies. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Dr Usman Anwar was also present.
A plea bargain of Rs 16.60 billion was made by NAB Lahore in four different cases, out of which the payment of Rs 4 billion was started from today (June 12) which would be completed in the next 15 days.
In the Eden housing scandal, Rs 3.60 billion were handed over to 11,880 victims as the first installment. In the Homeland Real Estate and Builders Case, NAB Lahore recovered Rs 39.6 million from the accused, of which 290 million rupees were returned to 67 victims.
In the Rahman City case, 124 registries worth 112 million were given to the victims, while Rs 33.3 million were handed over to the land owners.
In the Punjab Highway Department case, the NAB Lahore recovered Rs 43.2 million from the accused. However, a final cheque worth Rs 8 million was handed over to the chief secretary Punjab.