Pakistan, China to jointly oversee CPEC projects

NAB chairman says agreement signed with Beijing would ensure project is corruption free

An agreement signed between the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and China would see both Islamabad and Beijing jointly oversee projects and ensure transparency.

This was stated by NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, a statement released by the anti-corruption watchdog on Saturday. Terming corruption as the greatest evil being faced in the country, Chaudhry said that its eradication was the bureau’s top priority.



He added that in this regard, NAB had devised a Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to rationalise workload and timelines – set at a maximum of 10 months - which have been prescribed for efficient, effective and expeditious disposal of cases from complaint verification-to-inquiry-to-investigation and finally to a reference in the accountability court.



Moreover, he said that NAB had also introduced a new system of Combined Investigation Team (CIT) so that investigators can derive benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior officers.

This system, he said, would not only lend quality to the work but also ensure that no one can influence proceedings. He added that the concept of CIT had proven to be successful in improving the quality of inquiry and investigations.



Chaudhry pointed out that NAB was a role model for SAARC Countries. He further said that Pakistan became the first country to lead the SAARC Anti-Corruption forum.

To create awareness about the ill-effects of corruption amongst the youth, the NAB chief said that they had collaborated with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct over 42,000 Character Building Societies (CBSs) at universities and colleges across the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2017.