KARACHI, Dec 09 (APP): Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail on Wednesday said that disbanding the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), is a popular demand of corrupt elements to escape accountability and expressed confidence that the NAB, which is, in good and absolute independent hands, will achieve the task of recovering the plundered money from the declared culprits.
He was addressing as a chief guest in a seminar on “Corruption free Society – A Progressive Society”, in connection with International Anti-Corruption Day” hosted by the NAB Karachi at the Sindh Governor’s House here.
He said that the rallies and public gatherings are being organized without taking care of COVID-19 SOPs and their most popular demand is abolishing the NAB. The NAB is responsible to recover the looted money and it will hopefully accomplish this task, he added.
The Sindh Governor said that the NAB is in good and competent hands at the moment and working independently , he remarked. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly mentioned that he (the Premier) can quit the government but will not compromise on the process of accountability. The PTI government is committed to taking indiscriminate action against the corrupt practices and elements, he added.
The Governor said that there was always room for improvement in any organization and institution because this is a continuous process of evolution and the same is the case with the organizations like NAB. If we further improve and strengthen the NAB, nobody can hinder the process of progress and prosperity of Pakistan, he added
He said that sometimes the businessmen avoid disclosing their problems to the concerned quarters under the fear of losing their credibility. The politicians are habitual to deal with the police and other law enforcement agencies, on the contrary, the business community mostly is not used to it, he observed.
In his welcome address, the Director General NAB Karachi, Dr. Najaf Quli Mirza highlighted the efforts and importance of awareness and prevention regime in raising awareness against corruption.
He said that The Awareness and Prevention Wing of NAB Karachi established Character Building Societies, colleges, held lectures, declamation contests, poster painting competitions at schools, colleges, and universities falling in the jurisdiction of NAB Karachi.
Dr. Najaf Quli Mirza said the NAB Karachi has geared up its operations against corruption and has been performing exceptionally well.
The DG NAB Karachi said that presently NAB Karachi is investigating mega cases involving billions of rupees. Under the leadership of Chairman NAB Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, the NAB Karachi has remained successful in achieving the confidence of the public at large, he added.
Dr. Najaf Quli Mirza said that since its inception in the year 2000, the NAB Karachi has received more than 84,000 complaints of which 2150 inquiries and 1176 investigations were authorized. 881 references have been filed where the conviction rate is very high, he said.
He said that it is worth mentioning that an amount of Rs 14.779 billion has also been recovered from the accused persons and deposited into the national exchequer.
The DG NAB Karachi briefly highlighting the performance for the year 2020, said that during the current year, NAB Karachi received and disposed-off over 6000 complaints, completed 158 complaint verifications, 31 inquiries, and 23 investigations.
Moreover, 66 accused persons were arrested and 29 References filed in the Accountability Courts at Karachi and Hyderabad, he said.
On the recoveries side, he said that the Bureau has made direct recoveries of over Rs 1.893 billion in 2020. Similarly, a benefit of indirect recovery of over Rs 16 Billion is being passed on to more than 5700 affected persons of Fazaia Housing Scheme, Karachi, he added.
Besides, due to timely intervention by NAB Karachi, valuable Government land measuring 7-31 acres having worth Rs 971,875 million was retrieved by the government of Sindh, he said.
He further stated that on the directions of the Chairman NAB, the NAB Karachi conducted public hearings and received complaints on every last Thursday of each month.
Resultantly, people’s trust in NAB is increasing day by day as eradication of corruption is the voice of tie nation, and efforts of NAB in the eradication of the menace has been widely acknowledged, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, the Head of the Saylani Welfare Trust (SWT), Moulana Bashir Farooqui said that the day will come when we all will see a prosperous Pakistan.
Highlighting the services of the SWT, he said over 4000 staffers, the Trust extends services from Torkham to Karachi with zero corruption due to its strict and transparent system.
Moulana Bashir Farooqui said that around 100,000 students are being imparted Information Technology training under the SWT, who will significantly contribute to the development of the country.
President FPCCI, Mian Anjum Nisar and former chief of Citizens Police Liaison Committee, Jameel Yousuf in their addresses appreciated the efforts of NAB in curbing corruption.
Governor Imran Ismail along with the DG NAB Karachi also presented merit certificates to the officials of the NAB Karachi on their outstanding performance in the year 2020.
Certificates and cash prizes were also presented to the winners including students of different schools on their victory in the declamation contests.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail and DG NAB Karachi Dr. Naiaf Mirza also distributed cheques worth Rs 222.817 million amongst the representatives of federal and provincial governments departments and affected persons of various scams.
Notables from various walks of life including senior officials, academia, civil society, and winner students of speech contests attended the seminar.
