PESHAWAR, June 20: National Accountability Bureau chairman Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez has said that the United States has refused to extradite Abdullah Shah, a former chief minister of Sindh, owing to the non-existence of an extradition treaty between the two countries.

Addressing members of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, he conceded that NAB was facing difficulties to get back the money siphoned off to foreign countries. “We are neither getting the looted money back nor the persons wanted in corruption cases,” he said.

The NAB chairman elaborated that the US had refused to hand over Abdullah Shah to Pakistan taking the stand that insufficient evidence had been provided and that no extradition treaty existed between the two countries. “In some of the cases they (the US authorities) also made observations against our judicial system,” he added.

The NAB chief did not agree with a questioner who had suggested that after having extended maximum cooperation to the international coalition in war against terrorism Pakistan should not adopt a submissive attitude and rather it should try to get maximum incentives from them.

Sarwar Mohmand, a former president of the SCCI, asked the NAB chairman that Pakistan should try to get its siphoned-off money back in reward to the cooperation it had extended to the international coalition.

The NAB chairman disagreed with Mr Mohmand but conceded that Pakistan’s requests for the return of the money transferred by the corrupt to foreign banks were not being honoured.

In reply to a question, Lt-Gen Hafeez told Dawn that NAB had not moved Washington for extraditing former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Unified body: Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez said that a proposal to set up one anti-corruption establishment at the federal level and similar organizations   in the provinces, governed by uniform law and regulations, is under consideration.

The NAB chairman said the government was considering to do away with the situation under which a number of organizations, including the anti-corruption wing of the Federal Investigation Agency were carrying out the job.

He said under the proposal, provinces would also have single anti-corruption establishments governed by identical regulations.

“The government wants to have effective anti-corruption establishments at the federal and provincial levels to ensure that the looted money is recovered from the corrupt and the state agencies take measures for the prevention of corrupt practices in the public sector,” he said.

Replying to a question about the slowdown in the accountability process after initial days of the current government, he claimed that the bureau, with its limited staff, was pursuing a large number of corruption cases in the courts and was holding many inquiries.

“NAB is carrying out its activities well in line with its capacity, hence the government is considering to have a unified anti-corruption establishment at the federal level,” said Gen Munir.

He said NAB would continue performing its duties after the polls in October.

He did not agree with the notion that NAB had harassed potential investors. “Those who have made quick money through unfair means would certainly not feel comfortable by the NAB interrogation, but every possible care is taken to ensure that injustice should not be done with anybody,” claimed the NAB chairman.

He said that since his takeover as the head of the bureau, 100 to 150  cases previously being looked had been closed to avoid causing unnecessary hardships.

He dispelled the impression that any accountability court judge had been pressured or influenced on the part of NAB or by him to get the verdict against any accused. “The accountability courts are free and are deciding cases purely on merit,”  said the NAB chairman, who also denied that NAB had ever tried to force any he detained accused to enter into plea bargain.

“In all the case, it were the accused who contacted NAB showing their willingness to enter into plea bargain,” he said.