ISLAMABAD   -  A high level meeting chaired by National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal reviewed the progress in bringing 179 mega corruption cases to a logical conclusion.

The meeting was attended by Hussain Asghar, Deputy Chairman NAB, Syed Asghar Haider, Prosecutor General Accountability, Zahir Shah, DG Operations NAB while Directors General of all regional bureaus of NAB attended the meeting through video link.  The progress made so far was reviewed to bring the pending references, especially the mega corruption cases, to a logical conclusion.

 It was informed in the meeting that out of 179 mega corruption cases, 66 mega corruption cases have been brought to a logical conclusion by the Hon’ble Accountability Courts as per law while 93 corruption cases are pending in the Hon’ble Accountability Courts.  Justice Javed Iqbal, Chairman National Accountability Bureau, expressed satisfaction over the performance of NAB in mega corruption cases.

 The meeting was informed that out of 66 mega corruption cases have been brought to a logical conclusion. While various esteemed accountability courts have sentenced the accused to a total of Rs. 4.364 billion as per law on the basis of solid evidence in 12 mega corruption cases.

Abdul Qadir Tawakal and others were fined Rs 613 million, Ishtiaq Hussain of Messrs Buraq Syndicate Rawalpindi and others awarded fine Rs 200 million, Pakistan Medical Cooperative Housing Society management and land suppliers sentenced Rs 70 million, Haris Afzal son of Sher Muhammad Afzal and others to Rs 1 billion.  Seth Nisar Ahmed and others sentenced Rs 179.069 million, Sheikh Mohammad Afzal Chief Executive / Director Harris Steel Industry Pvt Ltd and others to Rs 331 million, Raza Habib Chief Executive, Mrs. Shumaila Messrs. Janat Apparel Pvt Ltd Faisalabad to Rs 174 million  Sheikh Muhammad Afzal sentenced to Rs 435 million, Galaxy City Rawalpindi management and others to Rs 213 million, Ayaz Khan Niazi to former NICL chairman and others to Rs 900 million, Syed Mureed Kazim, former provincial minister  For Revenue Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ahsanullah, a former senior member of the Board of Revenue and others, was fined Rs 200 million, while Saeed Akhtar, general manager of Pakistan Railways, and others were fined $ US 3.78 million

While in 6 cases, NAB recovered a total of Rs. 7.859 billion from the accused through voluntary returns and deposited it in the national treasury.

Among them, the management of Al-Hamra Hills and Eden Builders collected Rs. 1.902 billion and  Management and others returned  Rs. 80 million, M. Amjad Aziz Chief Executive Officer Divine Developers Pvt. Ltd. and others returned Rs. 313.308 million, Khushal Associates Nowshera and others returned Rs.60 million,

Shahnawaz Marri, former provincial sports minister Balochistan has given Rs 14 million through plea bargain.

Meanwhile, Riaz Ahmed, former project director, police department, Balochistan, voluntarily returned Rs 5.5 billion and the amount is deposited them in the national treasury.

It was informed in the meeting that according to the law, the accused in 4 mega corruption cases made a plea bargain through which a total of Rs 1.256 billion was recovered by the NAB from the accused and deposited in the national treasury.  Syed Masoom Shah, former special assistant to Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and others returned Rs. 300 million, Messrs. Capital Builders Pvt. Ltd. (New Islamabad Garden, Islamabad) and others contributed Rs. 440 million, the management and land supplier of Messrs. Teletown Pvt.  Rao Fahim Yasin, Rao Nadeem Yasin, Rao Naveed Yasin and all the partners of Messers. Wind Mills Restaurant Lahore and others made a plea bargain of Rs. 205 million.

 Under NAB’s Rule 25 (b), plea bargain is considered a punishment in which the accused not only confesses his crime but also agrees to return the stolen money.  Accountability is given by the court.  It was informed in the meeting that out of 179 mega corruption cases, 10 inquiries are under investigation in 11 investigations while references of 93 mega corruption cases are being heard in various esteemed accountability courts.

National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal said that eradication of corruption from the country and recovery of money looted from the nation by corrupt elements is the top priority of NAB.  Since inception, NAB deposited Rs 814 billion directly and indirectly in the national treasury while under the present leadership of NAB, in the last three years, Rs. 533 billion which is a testament to the NAB’s excellent performance against corrupt institutions.

NAB’s 1,273 corruption references of Rs 1,305 billion are currently pending in various esteemed accountability courts of the country.  The Chairman NAB directed all the regional bureaus of NAB to follow up in the esteemed courts in accordance with the law in the light of solid evidence, authentic documents and witness statements of NAB cases.  

In addition, to improve the quality of complaints verification, inquiries, and investigations, the NAB’s Forensic Science Laboratory, which has digital forensics, documentation, and fingerprint analysis facilities, is needed to solidify the evidence on a scientific basis.  Investigating officers should make technical use of forensic laboratory facilities in the context of investigation of cases as per law.

NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal said that NAB is pursuing a policy of accountability for all which has started showing excellent results.  NAB is the UN’s focal body under the UNCAC. NAB is also the chairman of the SAARC Anti-Corruption Forum.  Has signed a memorandum of understanding which is an honor for Pakistan.

NAB is a reputable anti-corruption body.  Cases of eradication of corruption from the country, abuse of power, money laundering, embezzlement of government funds and large scale fraud from the public come under the purview of NAB.  NAB’s performance and efficiency have been recognized by reputable national and international institutions.

According to the Gilani & Gallup poll, 59 per cent of the people trust the NAB. The conviction rate of NAB accused is 66 percent, which is the highest among other anti-corruption agencies.  A monitoring and evaluation system was devised to improve the performance of the NAB.

NAB’s affiliation is not with any political party, group and individual but with the state of Pakistan. NAB and Pakistan can go together but NAB and corruption cannot go together. He said that NAB’s faith is corruption free Pakistan. NAB  Officers should play their full role in accordance with the law to eradicate corruption from the country by following the policy of zero tolerance in accordance with the law without heeding any propaganda.