SAARC anti-corruption forum: NAB chief calls for corruption-free South Asia

President Mamnoon says joint efforts are essential to win the fight against graft

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau Chairman on Monday said Pakistan was ready to engage at regional level in its efforts to combat corruption.

"Sharing experiences, expertise and tools with the Saarc member states will supplement the overall agenda of betterment of peoples of this region," he said at the two-day seminar on anti-corruption attended by Saarc countries.

He proposed the idea of forming a ‘Saarc Anti-Corruption Forum’ which would aim to provide an institutional framework for taking these efforts further.

Speaking to the participants, NAB chairman stressed that the Saarc countries needed to synergize their individual efforts against corruption to achieve the goal of a corruption-free South Asia and change it into a region of development and prosperity.

Pakistan, he said, had over the years adopted a comprehensive policy for anti-corruption measures, adding the role of NAB at national level was central.

Zaman said presence of heads and delegates of anti-corruption agencies from Saarc member states in the seminar endorsed the commitment of their countries to work jointly towards the ultimate goal of corruption-free South Asia.

He said the seminar would be able to prepare an outcome that would add to existing anti-corruption efforts at the regional level also, adding that "This will indeed complement the agenda of upcoming 19th Saarc Summit to be held on November 9 and 10 this year in Islamabad."

Commissioner Anti-Corruption Commission of Nepal Dr Ganesh Raj Joshi, on behalf of the Saarc member states, appreciated NAB’s efforts of holding the seminar and evolving a joint strategy to uproot corruption from South Asian region.

Meet with the president

President Mamnoon Hussain called upon Saarc member states to effectively curb corruption in their respective countries and urged coordinated efforts to counter the trend.

Talking to the delegates of the Saarc countries at Aiwan-e-Sadr, he said the countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) needed to work jointly by sharing best practices, expertise and experiences among themselves to curb corruption in the region.

The delegates from Nepal, India, the Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are visiting Pakistan to attend a seminar on anti-corruption.

The president said seminars on anti-corruption provided a useful platform to Saarc member states to exchange views and benefit from each other’s expertise for effectively curbing corruption in their respective countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2016.