RAWALPINDI, April 1: President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday directed the National Accountability Bureau to tighten the noose around people who had looted the national treasury.
“Elements who plundered the national treasury will not escape accountability. Anyone with a track record of corruption will not be allowed to rule again,” President Musharraf said.
The president reiterated the stern warning during a meeting with NAB Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz, who presented Musharraf with sixth annual NAB performance report.
Expressing optimism about the NAB coming up to the people’s expectations, President Musharraf said that bureau had been instrumental in discouraging corruption to a great extent.
He, however, admitted that the past trend of corruption had tarnished Pakistan’s image, adding that people with “a murky past” had shifted their looted wealth to foreign countries.
He declared that the NAB would be overhauled to make it a more effective organisation.
President Musharraf praised the National Accountability Bureau for its “continued efforts for eradication of corruption”.
The president specially praised NAB for “creating awareness” about the importance of preventing corruption and the vital role of good governance and transparency in development through seminars and interaction with educational institutions.
During the meeting, the chairman briefed the president about NAB’s efforts in creating awareness through the print and electronic media and direct interaction with relevant stakeholders as part of its capacity-building strategy. It also detailed the bureau’s enalrged corruption prevention and enforcement operations to achieve good governance.
The report also informed about NAB’s expanding overseas operations to recover a large amount of looted wealth. — Agencies
