Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Wednesday said that suppression of corruption was critical to make country's economy strong. He said corruption was mother of all evils, it had a very negative effect on people, society and economy, therefore NAB had prioritised education, awareness and prevention over enforcement to bring a positive change in the society.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said this while speaking to the business community at The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Capital House. President FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam, Chairman UBG Iftikhar Ali Malik, UBG's candidate for the presidency of Apex Chamber Zubair Tufail and others were present on the occasion.
Chairman NAB said NAB had chalked out a comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) for eradication of corruption while Rs 278 billion had been recovered and deposited in national exchequer.
He said corruption was more prevalent in developing countries as compared to the developed ones and it badly impacted society, governance and youth. It is a big challenge to cope with.
Transparency International had rated Pakistan in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 175 to 126 in 2014 and in 2015 CPI decreased from 126 to 117 which was a great achievement for Pakistan due while the CPI of other regional countries remained static or declined, he informed.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said cumbersome procedures, inequality, lack of opportunities, unemployment and low quality education led the people towards corrupt means.
At the occasion, Abdul Rauf Alam, President FPCCI said corruption had very negative consequences including decreased foreign investment, delay in growth, lack of development and reduced trust in the system.
"Corruption make production, imports and exports costly resulting in trade deficit but if it is minimised than the country will have less trade deficits in-terms of exports and imports with other countries and their economies can prosper," he added.
He paid glowing tributes to the efforts of Chairman NAB to eradicate corruption, hailed MoU with China to ensure transparency in CPCE and offered unconditional cooperation to him.
He said NAB should think twice before taking action against any businessman and then opt for enforcement as FPCCI would never support any businessman involved in corruption.
Abdul Rauf Alam said "the trust of international community in our economy is returning for which credit goes to the government as well as efforts of the anti-corruption initiatives of NAB."