ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would concentrate on eliminating corruption from the country without caring about status or position, NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal said while addressing a cheque distribution ceremony among affectees of Double Shah and Elite Housing Scheme here on Thursday in Lahore.
He said that NAB would take strict action against corruption cases. He further said that corruption is spreading throughout the country like cancer and Pakistan has been looted at the hands of various people in the past.
Javed Iqbal said that Pakistan owes a whopping $ 84 billion and nobody is being held responsible. He highlighted that there is no official record of the amount spent on inquiries over foreign debt expenditures, whereas the officials responsible start claiming it to be a conspiracy which is being hatched against them. NAB has no link with any political party, he added. NAB does not believe in discrimination; zero tolerance and self-accountability is the most important component of NAB’s policy.
He further said that NAB has successfully recovered Rs 4 billion out of the Rs 9 billion from Double Shah, whereas co-accused, Tassawar Gilani, had plundered Rs 1.9 billion out of which Rs 1.2 billion has already been returned to the affectees. He said that people were scammed out of their money under the banner of Elite Housing Scheme. He said NAB Lahore has returned the looted money of Rs 10 billion including interest amount of Rs 36 crore, adding NAB had promised four months ago that the looted amount would be returned to the affectees who had come under cheating the public at large.
He urged regulators to keep a close vigil on enchanting advertisements of housing schemes. Whether the society has obtained NOC or deposited layout plan of the housing scheme. The formal approval of the housing society should also be checked. He said NAB will take action against regulators in future along with fake housing schemes. He urged the people to invest only in legal housing schemes. People should avoid trying to make quick money adding that NAB believes in transparency and merit.
Earlier NAB Lahore DG Shahzad Saleem said that NAB was trying utmost to arrange the recovery of housing societies looted money to the affectees under the leadership of Justice Javed Iqbal. NAB has so far recovered Rs 18 billion to about three lakh affectees and across the board, accountability would continue as per Justice Javed’s policy.
