Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Tuesday said an effective accountability mechanism is essential for economic growth, investment and stability of social order. The intervention by NAB has acted as a catalyst, as transparency is a pre-requisite for promoting investment and economic growth, he said this while chairing a meeting held here to review performance of Bureau at its headquarters.
The Chairman said since its inception, NAB had adopted enforcement based approach in its fight against corruption. Special focus is therefore being given to awareness and prevention activities besides enforcement to educate the people at large about ill effects of corruption.
He quoted address of father of nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Constituent Assembly of Pakistan where he had said "One of the biggest curses are bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put it down with an iron hand."
The Chairman said NAB's operational methodology has set three stages for proceeding of cases complaint verification, inquiry and investigation.
NAB's officers/officials need to follow a strict code of conduct and zero tolerance policy against eradication of corruption, he added.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said starting with year 2014 which can be called basically a year of reinvigoration of NAB, we have moved with new zeal and effort and added through detailed introspection and analysis of organisational weaknesses, overhaul of procedures and business processes, all pillars of the organisation ie operations, prosecution, human resource development and awareness and prevention have been reactivated.
Organogram was revisited to transform NAB into an efficient and credible organisation.
The Chairman said to close possibility of any single NAB officer/official influencing discharge of official business, the concept of a "Combined Investigation Team" (CIT) was introduced where two investigation officers and a legal consultant are working as a team for a fair, transparent and unbiased, inquiry/investigation.
He said that NAB has recovered Rs 276 billion since its inception which have been deposited in national exchequer which is a record achievement.
He said Transparency International and PILDAT have appreciated NAB's performance.
The Chairman said youth is future of Pakistan, therefore NAB has laid special emphases on them. More than 20,000 Character Building Societies (CBS) have been set up in universities and colleges across the country to build an effective edifice against corruption.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said fighting corruption is very challenging task, adding that serious efforts to combat corruption have been started with this realisation that it is our collective social responsibility and it would result in common good.