Major General Salim Nawaz, Director General, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Balochistan, has said that they have recovered Rs 1200 million from corrupt elements during the last six years in the province, as compared to Rs 360 million spent in this regard.
Speaking in a Radio Pakistan's programme, on the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day here on Friday, he said the NAB had also prevented misappropriation of another amount of Rs 6 billion in cases of land settlements in B-Areas of the province.
NAB Balochistan has brought many prominent figures, including 34 politicians to accountability during the last six years, he said, and claimed that the conviction rate remained 97 percent. "A total of 812 years imprisonment has been awarded to NAB convicts", he maintained. He said that NAB would keep a check on the huge amount being released by the federal government for the uplift schemes in the province.
The NAB Balochistan chief said that corruption was no more the problem of any particular country, as it had now become a global menace confronting all the states of the world. "Keeping this in view, the international community introduced the International Convention on Anti-Corruption, which was signed on September 9, 2003. So far, 140 countries have signed the Convention while 80 of them have also ratified it", he added.
"According to Transparency International's anti corruption index Pakistan stands at 142nd number in the world. We need strenuous efforts to improve our number in the list for which there is a need of collective efforts by all members of the society", he stressed.
Replying to a question about plea bargain, Major General Salim Nawaz said this system had been taken from the US to catch the white-collar crimes as it was very difficult to convict the elements involved in such crimes from courts due to lack of evidences.
Replying to another question about using NAB for political victimisation, he said NAB functions under the NAB Ordinance 1999 with full constitutional shield hence it was impossible to use this body for political victimisation. "NAB functions according to provisions of law and cannot deviate from its constitutional path", he observed.