NAB claims Rs9.17tr recovery in nine months
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt Gen (retired) Nazir Ahmed Butt has claimed that the bureau recovered assets worth Rs9,171.92 billion between January and September 2026.
He said the auction of reclaimed Pakistan Railways land could generate more than Rs10 trillion and provide sufficient resources to finance the long-delayed Main Line-1 (ML-I) project without foreign borrowing.
He said NAB expected significantly larger recoveries from the power sector than those secured from the railways, describing practices in the sector as "daylight robbery". The bureau would subsequently examine entities operating under the Ministry of Industries and Production, he added.
Speaking at a briefing for senior journalists in Islamabad, the NAB chairman also claimed that money laundering outflows from Pakistan had stopped, accused some countries that champion democracy of shielding suspected money launderers, and called for a comprehensive overhaul of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), saying its existing system was not functioning properly.
Butt said NAB had recovered cash and assets worth Rs26 trillion between March 2023 and December 2025, while its recoveries between January and September 2026 alone amounted to Rs9,171.92bn.
He said the bureau had recovered billions of rupees' worth of railway land as assets after just two and a half months of work. The land, he added, could provide the financial foundation for ML-I if properly monitored and auctioned.
"The assets and land we have recovered for Pakistan Railways are worth more than Rs6 trillion. If they are properly monitored and auctioned, the amount could exceed Rs10 trillion," he said, arguing that the project could be completed without relying on foreign loans.
According to the chairman, NAB's ongoing scrutiny of the power sector would bring numerous matters into the open during the first half of 2027. Once its work in the sector was completed, the bureau would turn its attention to organisations under the Ministry of Industries and Production. He expressed confidence that recoveries from the power sector would substantially exceed those made from railway assets.