Claiming that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had made most of the recoveries during the last four years, NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal said on Thursday that Rs14 billion were recovered from the corrupt elements only in the ongoing year.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the NAB chairman said had it not been for the anti-corruption watchdog, the recovery of such a huge sum was not possible.
Rejecting the allegation that the amount recovered was usurped by the NAB officials, he said that truth of the matter was that the entire amount was distributed among the affectees of corruption scandals. “And while this was being done, it was made sure that the money was returned to only those to whom it belonged,” he clarified. “Do criticize the Bureau, but not without a proof,” he urged people, particularly the politicians.
He went on to add that the Bureau had taken action even against those people who were considered to be ‘untouchables’. “Out of total Rs14 billion, a huge amount was recovered from the owners of different housing societies,” the NAB chairman claimed.
He regretted that the concerned departments had turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings of these societies’ owners. He said he was amazed how people were hoodwinked by these people so easily. Admitted brochures are beautiful which tempt people to purchase plots in these societies,” Justice (r) Javed said, and asked people to use brain before doing so because fraudsters were everywhere.
He recalled that only a few years back when the NAB had asked the Sindh government about the wheat stocks, which had suddenly disappeared in the province, the provincial government made the excuse that they had been eaten by the mice.
He said the anti-graft watchdog even arrested those “wheat-eating rats” and recovered Rs20 billion from them when it initiated a probe against tonnes of missing wheat stocks in Sukkur. “When I asked, where all the wheat is? I was told that rats ate it,” said Justice Iqbal.
He said it was claimed that suspects were not punished in NAB cases. Instead of criticism for the sake of criticism, people should make constructive criticism, said the NAB chief. He clarified that in four years, the bureau punished 1,194 people.
The NAB chief said some people tried to kick up a storm in a teacup by asking where were the Rs541billion recovered by the accountability bureau. INP
