Those in power for 35 years should be held accountable first: NAB chairman

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal on Thursday said that those who have been in power for 35 years should be held accountable first, followed by those who have been in power for a few months.

Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Iqbal said, “Neither does NAB believe in political revenge, nor does it want to be involved in politics. Our job is to eliminate corruption from the country. NAB as an institution is trying to take every step possible to eliminate corruption.”

Iqbal added, "Some people have tried to convince the people that NAB is taking political revenge or that NAB’s attention is focused towards one place. They have been unsuccessful."

“A certain class has been in power for 35 to 40 years and the other has been in power for just a few months. It is important to hold those accountable who have been in power for 35 years. Next, we will audit those who have been in power for a few months and hold them accountable,” he added.

Iqbal further said it does not matter if a certain class is in power or not, everyone is equal in the eyes of NAB. “NAB does not look at the face but at the case. There have been numerous cases which NAB did not pursue due to a lack of evidence. There was never a question of political revenge,” he said, adding, the accountability watchdog is not in a dispute with anyone over property.

“Why would NAB take revenge?” Iqbal said. “Our first and last priority is Pakistan.”

"Those who criticised and accused NAB of taking political revenge after coming out of the courts of after their production orders were issued, I ask them: why would NAB take revenge from you? You did not do anything to us, what was done was against the country, if anybody did anything against the country then there is no question of forgiveness from NAB. It does not matter who you are or where you are from. If you have done something you will pay for it. This is NAB’s policy and we stand by it,” Iqbal asserted.

Iqbal further said it was very easy to chant slogans about so-called political revenge or that NAB was carrying out one-sided inquiries. “If you can prove that any NAB official, including the NAB chairman, met with any senator or MNA or MPA, then I will resign from my post myself.”

“The newspapers keep saying NAB is carrying out political engineering. NAB is not doing any political engineering. It is an institution made for the elimination of corruption and we have been successful to some extent in curbing it. No one is big or small for me or NAB. Everyone is equal in the eyes of NAB. We carry out our inquiries in a very respectable manner,” he added.

Iqbal added, “Those who were riding around on motorcycles in the 80s and 90s own towers in Dubai and properties in London today. We should ask them from where did they acquire them. It is NAB’s responsibility to ask them about it.”

Speaking about the current cases under investigation, Iqbal said, “All cases under NAB investigation are there with evidence. Money laundering cases have evidence and in time we will tell how we conduct investigations. When the time comes we will present the evidence in courts, because it is not our job to hand punishment. We present evidence and the rest is up to the court.”

On the subject of no cases coming to an end, Iqbal said filing reference is NAB’s job. "1,250 cases are under way in court. We will see the logical end of these cases," he vowed.

“People need to realise what had happened is because of evidence and proof. Nothing has happened because of political revenge. This is not because of some personal vendetta,” he lamented.

"We respect the Parliament and all its members. They are the people's representatives. There were a few members against whom there are cases. They proposed amendments in the budget to cut raises in NAB employees' salaries. Some felt NAB as an institution itself should be finished. No such proposals were accepted. I want to assure that NAB is getting back more to the nation than whatever is being spent on it,” he added.