LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Javed Iqbal visited the provincial capital on Wednesday and reviewed progress of mega corruption cases.

Chairing a meeting with all the heads of combined investigation teams (CITs) and director general NAB Lahore Shahzad Saleem at the bureau’s Lahore headquarters, the chairman reviewed in detail mega corruption cases’ progress made against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his family in TT reference, Ashiana Iqbal and Ramzan Sugar Mills scandals.

Javed Iqbal remarked that NAB cases were based on “strong evidences” and that the accused were facing trials in different courts. He directed the concerned officers to continue taking uninterrupted actions against ‘corrupt elements’. He also reviewed progress of a case against Jang and Geo News editor-in-chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman.

The meeting also examined the advancement in mega corruption cases against housing sector cases which include Paragon City case, Eden Housing scandal and an inquiry against Pak-Arab Housing Society etc. The NAB chairman suggested the officers to include only relevant and “evidence loaded” witnesses in courts to defend the corruption references.

“NAB has no links or any kind of affiliation with any political party except the state of Pakistan and its public,” he claimed and advised the prosecution wing to limit the number of witnesses in corruption references so that trials in courts may be concluded without any delay.

NAB Lahore DG Shahzad Saleem said they recovered a total of Rs 88 billion from corrupt elements in 45 cases during the last four-year tenure of the incumbent chairman. Of them, the DG said Rs 78 billion were recovered under the head of indirect recovery while the other Rs 10 billion were recovered under direct recovery in 22 cases.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021