RAWALPINDI: National Acco­u­­n­tability Bureau (NAB) chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said on Thursday that the plea bargain scheme still existed despite enforcement of a new NAB ordinance (on Jan 8).

“But it (the amendment) has disbarred public office-holders and government employees from seeking benefit from the NAB’s plea bargain and voluntary return laws.”

Speaking during a question and answer session at the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), he said that the bureau was working under the present laws, adding that after amendments to the NAB ordinance it would implement the law in letter and spirit.

Referring to recent amendm­ents to the NAB law, he said upon proven guilty on corruption char­ges a public office-holder would be disqualified for life and a government official would not able to serve in any other government department.

In reply to a question, he said NAB would give the money (over Rs3 billion) recovered from the former finance secretary of Balochistan to the provincial government so that it could use the amount for the development of the province. Terming the case a success story, he said that NAB took only six months to complete its proceedings.

He said that NAB had closed the inquiry against former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Amir Haider Hoti after finding insufficient evidence against him.

The NAB chairman refused to comment on the Panama Papers, saying that the case involving the leaks was in the Supreme Court and he would not talk on it.

The bureau since its inception had recovered Rs285 billion from people accused in corruption cases and deposited the amount in the exchequer, he said.

Earlier speaking to RCCI members, Mr Chaudhry said that eradication of corruption was vital for making the country economically strong. He said that NAB was committed to making Pakistan a corruption-free country.

He said that all economic indicators were showing positive trends and even the World Bank had rev­ised its outlook for Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product. With the imp­ro­vement in security situation businesses were flourishing, he added.

He said that businessmen served as the backbone of the national economy. He said that corruption was a menace and it had negative impact on people, society and the economy.

Talking about functioning of the bureau, he said “NAB itself never goes for an inquiry or investigation; it’s a complaint-driven organisation”. A majority of applications (about 80 per cent) dropped out at an initial stage due to lack of evidence, he added.

He called for a role of the public, especially traders, in the fight against corruption. Creating awareness about the negative impact of corruption on the society was necessary, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2017