‘NAB recovered Rs265.12b since inception’ (page 9)

Says NAB is committed to eradicate corruption by adopting zero tolerance policy

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has said that the anti-corruption watchdog has prosecuted the corrupt and recovered Rs265.12 billion since its inception, which is a record achievement.

The allocation to NAB for its working since creation is Rs10.111 billion, which is only 3.74% of recoveries made by the bureau. He said NAB has been rejuvenated, reinvigorated and various initiatives have been taken to further improve the NAB performance.

According to press release, he expressed these views while addressing NAB officers during his visit to the NAB Karachi bureau to review its performance on the basis of Quantified Grading System at NAB Regional Bureau Karachi.

He said NAB is committed to eradicating corruption by using all its resources across the board by adopting zero tolerance policy throughout the country.

“NAB has chalked out an effective and comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) for eradication of corruption and corrupt practices which will continue during 2016,” he said.

He said it is encouraging that for the first time anti-corruption has been made a part of the development agenda in Pakistan in the context of governance.

Chaudhry said the Planning Commission of Pakistan has included a chapter devoted to issues of corruption in the 11th five-year plan and NAB intends to work closely with the Planning Commission to achieve the goals set in the 11th five-year plan.

“It is in this context that PILDAT in its report has rated NAB’s performance at 42% based on public survey. This compares quite favourably to 29% public confidence in police and 26% in government officers working,” he added.

He said the rate of success of NAB’s prosecution work in all courts is approximately 70%.

“The recent reports of Transparency International also rated Pakistan in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 175 to 126 which is a great achievement for Pakistan due to NAB’s efforts,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2016.