LAHORE: To mark the International Anti-Corruption Day, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in collaboration with the Punjab Higher Education Department (PHED) organised an anti-corruption awareness seminar at the Alhamra Arts Council on Wednesday.

Provincial Minister for Industries and Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal and Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Timur Khan Bhatti were the special guests. Former Education Minister Mian Imran Masood, Director NAB Syed Hasnain Ahmed, renowned artist Ali Zafar and a large number of students from across Punjab attended the event.

Students’ paintings, posters and writings were exhibited on the occasion and ministers distributed prizes and certificates among the position holders.

Addressing the function, Mian Aslam said that NAB was waging a “jihad” to eradicate corruption. “It is the collective responsibility of society to strengthen the hands of NAB in eradicating corruption,” he said, adding that the tradition of treating corrupt elements with respect is “new” in the society as corruption was used to be called outright evils.

According to Aslam, distance from Islamic teachings was the main reason behind social degradation.

Timur Bhatti suggested that the young generation must be attracted to sports and constructive activities in order to keep them away from corruption and other social evils. He said the awareness campaign initiated by NAB was an important step towards curbing corruption.

NAB Punjab Director Syed Hasnain Ahmed said they were pursuing a three-pronged strategy to eradicate corruption i.e., awareness, prevention and enforcement. He said that these were the key components of NAB’s strategy against corruption and corrupt elements. Singer Ali Zafar urged the students to come forward and eradicate corruption from society.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021