NAB forensic lab becomes operational

Australian National Police had provided equipment for the laboratory

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Tuesday said the bureau had cleared 92 per cent of backlogged cases.

He was addressing a ceremony after inaugurating a forensic science laboratory at Melody Market.

He said around 1,133 cases were pending with a processing deadline of June 30; 74 per cent of which were cleared in July.

The chairman thanked the bureau’s staff for clearing the backlog by the first week of October.

Investigation aids: NAB establishes forensic lab

Enumerating the initiatives taken by the bureau, the chairman said the concept of combined investigation has been introduced, with investigation officers and prosecution working together to ensure transparency and unbiased investigations.

He said a system had been formulated to standardise the selection of cases, with priority based on amount involved, social impact and number of affected persons.

Historically, Chaudhry said, only those nations have developed who have rooted out corruption and injustice from their societies.

“If we in Pakistan want to become a developed nation, we must uproot corruption from our society and show zero tolerance against the menace,” he added.

NAB devises strategy to weed out corruption from society

The chairman said NAB’s 15-year experience has shown that struggle against corruption is not the fight of one man or one institution, rather the responsibility of every citizen.

“We can only win this war through the collective efforts of all segments of society,” he said.

He also said special emphasis was being laid on setting up character building societies in educational institutes across the country to build an effective edifice against corruption.

While emphasizing the role of students, Chaudhry said, the bureau has signed an agreement with the Higher Education Commission to develop ‘character building societies’ in universities, colleges and schools to create awareness among the students regarding the adverse affects of corruption.

NAB hands over recovered amount to Sindh govt, others

NAB is also proposing that anti-corruption be made a part of the developmental agenda, in the context of governance, he added.

Chaudhry said that a three-pronged strategy of awareness, prevention and enforcement was required to combat corruption.

The chairman said the responsibility to educate the public on the ill effects of corruption lies greatly with the media.

Giving details about the salient features of the lab, Training and Research Director-General Hasnain Ahmad said the new lab possesses the facilities of digital forensics, questioned documents and fingerprint analysis.

Ahmad said the Australian National Police had provided equipment for the lab. He said with the help of the new lab, investigation officers and teams will be able to produce better and quick results.

NAB Deputy Chairman Imtiaz Tajwar, representatives of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Australian embassy, and bureau officials attended the ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2015.