NAB chief pledges to remain apolitical

Accountability czar says civility, fairness to be hallmarks of anti-corruption body

ISLAMABAD:

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief Lt-Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmad Butt has reiterated that the now-defanged body will remain neutral and avoid paths trodden in the past.

He pledged to steer the anti-corruption watchdog away from politics and focus on financial wrongdoings.

According to a statement, Nazir Ahmad Butt was addressing the participants of a ceremony organised for the distribution of compensation cheques among affectees of various scams.

The ceremony was held in the NAB Rawalpindi office.

During his address to the participants, NAB chairman reiterated that NAB will remain completely apolitical and will work as per law. He stated that in the past, the bureau found itself involved in undue controversies that damaged its reputation. He said his foremost effort will be to restore the image of NAB as a fair, just, and unbiased institution.

The NAB chief expressed concern at the country’s downward march on the Global Corruption Perception Index and said that the entire society had to work together for eradicating the menace of corruption. He also appreciated the affectees for their patience while waiting for the looted amount to be recovered and assured that henceforth every effort would be made to conclude such cases in the shortest possible time frame.

Earlier, Rawalpindi NAB DG Mirza Irfan Baig, in his welcome remarks, said that NAB had made a recovery of Rs3.5 billion in 5 major cases of fraud in which Rs27 million were being disbursed among the affectees. The recoveries include Rs130 million in a scam involving the Sindh Tractors Scheme, Rs500 million in Askari Housing Scheme, Rs1.9 billion in the National House Building Development Corporation scam, and others. He also apprised that SAARC, PILDAT, and international organisations including the UN have acknowledged NAB’s performance.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2023.