National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Wednesday defended the watchdog’s plea bargain, saying NAB “always performs within its constitutional ambit”.
Interacting with a group of reporters here, Chaudhry said the provision of plea bargain existed in the “laws of many countries” and not only in Pakistan. “It (the law) has helped recover money from looters and plunderers, and return it to the coffer.”
The NAB chief said that “according to Section 25 (b) of National Accountability Ordinance, every criminal is bound to place a request for plea bargain”.
He further said that first the request for a plea bargain was thoroughly reviewed and then it was submitted before the accountability court for approval.
The NAB chief said the Bureau had so far recovered Rs285 billion of which Rs45 billion were recovered in recent times.
He also said that the Bureau deposited each and every penny of the recovered amount to the national treasury.
Under the provision of plea bargain, a person who confesses to the crime becomes ineligible to participate in national politics for a period of 10 years. The person also becomes ineligible to take a loan from any bank or financial institution.
“If he is a government employee, the applicant stands removed from his job routinely,” the NAB chief said as he dispelled the notion that the Bureau received “a share” once the plea bargain was finalised.