KARACHI, Sept 19: Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim said on Tuesday that the Sindh government has been a strong opponent of corruption. ''In this regard, I have always extended my full support to the institutions responsible for combating corruption, like NAB.

This, he said, addressing a declamation contest prize distribution ceremony, organized by the NAB at its headquarters here.

He said corruption is mother of all evils.

The chief minister said corruption in Pakistan exists in many forms. The most commonly known forms are bribery, gifts, embezzlement, dishonesty and misappropriation. But the worst form of corruption is intellectual and professional dishonesty to please or benefit a few individuals at the cost of others. Equally dangerous is sycophancy, which misleads decision makers and has extremely harmful effects on society as result of these unjust and wrong decisions, he added.

Arbab Rahim said he must appreciate the effective anti corruption drive undertaken by the NAB in a difficult environment. NAB has recovered Rs 26 billion from the corrupt people and deposited in government's treasury.

The chief minister said in fact his efforts at blocking corruption within the body politic has led to many unkind words and actions against him.

''But that has never deterred me from lessening my efforts to defeat this dark force and let there be no misconception about my stand on corruption.

No quarter will ever be given to the corrupt, he said, adding President General Pervez Musharraf himself is an ardent opponent of corruption which explains my being the Chief Minister of Sindh with his fullest support and blessings whatever opponents may say, he added.

He further said that corruption is a problem which is directly concerned with attitudes. So, its eradication lays in raising our guards through improving literacy and motivation. He said that NAB has rightly adopted a new anti-corruption policy based on three elements awareness, prevention and enforcement.

He hoped that the bureau's awareness initiatives regarding building coalitions with civil society would bear fruits in the long run. In fact, the essay and poster competitions and public seminars on corruption at the lower level- causes, effects and remedies conducted by NAB have already proved useful as civil society has started to believe not only in its power but also in NAB's willingness to be an active partner in the fight against corruption, he added.

The CM urged the students that they must understand the menace of corruption and they have to play pivotal role in the awareness campaign of the Bureau with their positive, creative and fresh minds.Earlier D-G NAB Maj. General Mukhtar Ahmed spoke about the declamation contest. The CM also distributed prizes amongst the position holders of the contest.—PPI