NAB officers have no political affiliations: Javed Iqbal

LAHORE: The chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Javed Iqbal, on Thursday clarified that the anti-corruption watchdog officers have no political affiliations, ARY News reported.

Javed Iqbal was addressing the NAB officers during his visit to Lahore headquarters. He said that the institution has submitted over Rs71 billion to the national exchequer.

The chairman said that the four-canal house of former finance minister Ishaq Dar is being given to the Punjab government. He added that the auctioned money will be submitted to the national treasury.

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The anti-graft watchdog recovered over Rs1 billion worth properties from Ikram Naveed, said Iqbal said, adding that NAB officers have no affiliation with any political party. He said that investigation of different cases came under the category of white-collar crimes.

Iqbal said that no tolerance will be shown over negligence in probe of mega corruption cases. He asked NAB officers to continue performing duties without bearing any pressure.

Earlier on October 16, Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal had said the bureau is committed to bringing back looted money from corrupt people.

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“Corruption is the biggest hurdle in the country’s prosperity and development”, he said while addressing the meeting of NAB’s Executive Board, here in the federal capital, today.

The chief of country’s top graft-buster said, the NAB has recovered Rs.71billion from the corrupt elements, in last 22 months and deposited into the national kitty.

He said corruption is the root cause of problems in the country. “We are committed to thwarting this menace from Pakistan.”

Javed Iqbal said the accountability bureau is working on strict policies to eliminate corruption and also directed the officials concerned to complete ongoing investigations and inquiries within the given time period.