LAHORE - Wapda has organised a seminar in connection with International Anti-Corruption Day here on Friday. The purpose of the seminar which held at Wapda Auditorium was to promote awareness about ills of corruption.
NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry was the chief while senior journalist Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, Justice (Retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal, known poet Amjad Islam Amjad, religious scholar Sahibzada Muhammad Amanat Rasool, Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab DG Anwer Rashid, Punjab IT Board chairman Dr Umar Saif and Wapda chairman Zafar Mahmood also spoke on the occasion.
The NAB chairman said that mass awareness was most important to fight corruption in the country. He said that NAB was aware of its responsibilities and doing its utmost in this regard. He termed improvement of Pakistan’s ranking at Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2014 as an encouraging development, adding that the country has attained this position for the first time in a span of 20 years since the first Index was launched in 1995.
In his welcome address, the Wapda chairman said that the authority organised seminar as part of its social corporate responsibility. He said that ills of corruption are manifold and its harms on institutions and society are well-documented. He said that Wapda is committed to zero-tolerance towards corruption, adding that we have instituted a multi-layered system of checks and balances in the organisation that has demonstrated its effectiveness to address the issue of corruption. Justice (Retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal underlined the need of self-accountability and promotion of mass awareness to combat corruption in the society.
Amjad Islam Amjad said that all of us would have to become part of solution. He said that unless we speak up against injustice and corruption, we will be considered as part of the problem.
Dilating upon productive role of information and communication technology in detecting and minimising corruption, the Chairman PITB briefed the participants about Citizens’ Feedback Model being implemented by the Government of Punjab.
The DG Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab threw light on the efforts his organisation was making to curb corruption in Punjab. Ms. Aliya Rashid, DG (Awareness & Prevention) NAB, briefed the participants about role, functions and achievements of NAB. Sahibzada Muhammad Amanat Rasool said that implementation on value system of Islam can help develop aptitude of people against corruption.