NAB committed to root out corruption, says Chairman

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Corruption is the mother of all evils and is the main challenge being confronted by the country posing a potential hurdle to the progress and prosperity of the country. National Accountability Bureau established in 1996 to eradicate corruption and recover looted money from corrupt and deposit in national exchequer.  The incumbent chairman Honorable Justice Javed Iqbal soon after assuming the charge of Chairman NAB, adopted the policy of “Accountability for All.” NAB under the dynamic leadership of Chairman NAB worked hard and apprehended the culprits, besides recovering a whopping Rs. 487 billion in three years from 2018 to 2020 and Rs. 714 billion from the corrupt directly and indirectly which is a record achievement. 

Chairman not only vowed to ensure accountability of all but also successfully implemented his policy across the board. He has persistently monitored the performance of NAB Headquarters  as well as all Regional Bureaus of NAB. The officers are being conveyed about their strengths and weaknesses in order to have better performance but also told to overcome their shortcomings. NAB had already fixed ten months time to complete the process of initiating complaint versification, inquiries and investigations to filing a reference. NAB has further activated prosecution and operation divisions of NAB by appointing new investigation officers and law officers and provided them training on modern lines in order to inquire and pursue all mega corruption cases vigorously in learned Courts. 

An accused can apply for plea bargain as per clause 25-B of NAB ordinance. NAB receives his receipt of plea bargain request, examines the plea bargain application as per law. The liability of the accused is determined on the basis of his looted money with markup and after determination of total liability of the accused, NAB forwards the request of Plea Bargain of the accused along with his total liability for final approval of the respective Accountability Courts.

The learned  Accountability Court approves the request for a plea bargain of the accused. It is not correct that NAB approves plea bargain applications of the accused.  After approval of the plea bargain from the learned Accountability Court. Plea bargain is deemed conviction. The accused requesting plea bargain not only confesses his guilt in writing before the learned Accountability Court but also agrees to return all looted money. Therefore it is a totally wrong impression which is being given in some sections of the media that after approval of plea bargain from learned Accountability Court, plea bargain means leaving the corrupt elements scot free. 

Plea Bargain is prevalent in over thirty countries including the USA, UAE and other countries of the world. In the plea bargain the accused only does not go to jail but he faced all other punishments under the relevant laws applied on the culprit.  A plea bargainer lost honor and dignity in society. After plea bargain, the Govt servant is dismissed from service immediately after approval of a plea bargain.. He becomes disqualified for Govt service for his remaining life. A politician becomes disqualified for 10 years. He could hold public office or contest elections for ten years. In the case of a business, after a plea bargain, he could not obtain a loan from a scheduled bank for ten years.

The whole amount recovered from a plea bargain is deposited in the national exchequer and NAB officers do not receive any money from the recovered amount. NAB believes in absolute transparency, professionalism and merit as per law. During the tenure of the present Chairman NAB Honorable Justice Javed, Iqbal, NAB has become a vibrant organization and its reputation and image has been increased manifold due to its Accountability for All policy and across the board actions against corruption. The credit of success of NAB goes to the present management of NAB and his team who consider elimination of corruption as their national duty. NAB has great regard for the business community and special cells have been established for redressal of their problems. Moreover, the cases of income tax, sales tax and under invoicing were already forwarded to FBR for appropriate action as per law. NAB also gives value to the contribution of bureaucracy. On the direction of Chairman NAB, all concerned have been asked to ensure self respect of every person visiting NAB offices as NAB is a human friendly organization which always believes to work in accordance with law.