Improving accountability: ‘NAB has zero tolerance for corruption’

Chairman announces steps to prevent under-investigation parties from influencing inquiry

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has said that the bureau has chalked out a national anti-corruption strategy to eradicate corruption and corrupt practices from the country.

He said NAB believed in a zero tolerance policy on corruption through its holistic and proactive strategy of awareness, prevention and enforcement.

Chaudhry made these remarks during his visit to NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regional office on Friday. The chairman said he had introduced measures to guard against unethical and unprofessional conduct. He said with improved infrastructure, rationalised workload and timelines, NAB was poised for efficient disposal of cases.

The maximum timeframe of 10 months is allowed for a complaint to be verified, inquired, investigated and referenced to an accountability court, he said.

The chairman also announced to introduce combined investigation teams, which would make the influence of inquiry outcomes impossible by those under investigation.

The chairman said that all complaints against NAB employees are investigated by qualified experts with the help of senior officers, and are dealt with promptly as per the law. He added that a special Integrity Management Cell had also been set up at NAB headquarters.

He directed the officials to complete all investigations in a transparent and timely manner, based on evidence and in line with laid out procedures. He also directed investigation officers (IO) to maintain case diaries, which would be checked by desk officers at least twice a week and by director of the wing once a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.