LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had affiliation with no political party and believed in treating all people with respect, said its chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal on Wednesday.

Speaking to investigation officers and prosecutors at NAB’s Lahore offices, Jus­tice Iqbal said the bureau’s first priority was to bring the corrupt elements to justice.

“NAB’s commitment is only with Pakistan. Its purpose is to recover the country’s looted wealth.”

Bureau’s commitment is only with Pakistan, says chairman

He said the bureau belie­v­ed in treating with respect all the persons against whom inquiries and investigations had been launched.

Desks had been set up in all its regional offices where directors had been instructed to listen to complaints on a daily basis, added the NAB chairman.

The bureau had launched investigations into a “mass­ive case” allegedly involving fake bank accounts, in accor­dance with the law, he said.

“The fake accounts case has been transferred to NAB by the Supreme Court, which shows its confidence in the anti-corruption watchdog,” he said.

NAB has formed a combined investigation team to probe alleged fake bank accounts of and laundering of money by top Pakistan Peoples Party leaders, bankers and players in the real estate business.

Justice Iqbal said that solving cases involving white collar crimes required expertise and concrete evidence, for which NAB’s investigation officers were undergoing training on a regular basis.

All the cases, he said, would be decided on merit and without fear or favour. If a case was not found to be liable to be probed, it would be closed without delay.

“NAB’s investigation officers should bring all investigations to their logical conclusion,” he said.

The director general of Lah­ore NAB, Shahzad Sal­eem, briefed Justice Iqbal about progress made in several mega corruption cases.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2019