ISLAMABAD - Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting at NAB Headquarters and devised a comprehensive strategy to ensure the attendance of NAB prosecutors in different courts during the lockdown in various cities so that no case of NAB could be dismissed due to non-prosecution or nonappearance of NAB prosecutors.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman, NAB, Prosecutor General Accountability, Director General, Operations, DG headquarters, DG Human Resource Development, senior officers of the Bureau, while Director Generals of all Regional Bureaus attended the meeting via video link. The participants of the meeting maintained three to four feet distance among themselves.The meeting was told that the entry of visitors had already been banned at NAB headquarters and all regional offices on the direction of Chairman NAB.
The meeting also decided to observe working hours from 9:00am to 2:00pm for NAB offices. The relevant DGs will reduce their staff by fifty percent in their respective offices and staff over fifty years of age suffering from pre-existing diseases will be required in office only on urgent basis. Class four staff's attendance will be reduced by fifty percent. Special checking of staff and others will be ensured at entry gate through thermal guns.
Special screening of the officers, staff members who had visited abroad in February and March 2020 would be conducted. The meeting further decided to close official transport of NAB, exempting the staff from biometric attendance till April 5, 2020. It decided to ensure frequent hand washing, use of sanitizer, gloves and masks. Women staff members were allowed to work from their homes till April 5. In lockdown areas relevant DGs will remain present at their respective stations. The screening of accused in NAB custody will be ensured from qualified doctors besides providing them masks, gloves, sanitizer and other necessary equipment to protect them from the deadly COVID-19. The meeting suspended all future meetings of NAB including open courts, executive board meeting and other routine meetings till April 5. Relevant DGs were directed to call their staff in only urgent nature of consultations.
Chairman NAB expressed its firm resolve that nobody will be overwhelmed by fear, but will instead fight COVID-19. Only precautionary measures can save and protect from the deadly virus, he added.
He said the officials should inform their relevant DGs if symptoms of coronavirus appear so that immediate remedial measures could be taken. He said officials should not go to large gatherings, not go outside without any logical reason and maintain close contact with their DGs by telephone in order to dispose of official business without fail.