KARACHI: The Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment Sindh staged a rally on Friday to commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day, and asserted that plea bargains were a tool used by the corruption mafia to devour national resources.
The speakers at the rally said that corruption would only be removed if it lost its political backing.
The rally was led by Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment Chairman Alamdin Bullo and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Director General Altaf Bawany. It also included vice-chancellors of several universities of Karachi as well a large number of other people.
Starting from the Sindh Assembly, the rally ended at Karachi Press Club.
After warmly welcoming the participants on the occasion, Alamdin Bullo said that bribery and corruption were major offences and that efforts were needed to raise awareness against the two evils. He said that the anti-corruption establishment was establishing a training academy to curb the evil of corruption from the society.
Bullo further said that they had received over 4000 complaints regarding corruption, out of which inquiries into 400 had already started.
“More than 30 officers of the anti-corruption department have been given show-cause notices on their negligence. Complaint centres have also been set up to facilitate citizens,’’ Bullo said.
Also speaking on the occasion, Provincial Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said that nobody was above the law. He said that it was due to strict law enforcement that ministers and prime ministers could be taken to account, adding that stern action against the big fish of corruption mafia was being taken.
He said that NAB and the anti-corruption department were performing their duties against corruption, adding that this role needed further improvement. He said that it was time to say “no to corruption.’’
Karachi NAB Director General Muhammad Altaf Bawany said that NAB was a federal institution and that it was taking strict actions against corruption. He said that NAB had received more than 7,000 complaints against corruption, out of which 30 complaints had already been investigated, while more than 300 cases were being heard in courts for trial. He said that NAB had saved the government’s treasury from a loss of Rs300billion.
He also said that there was massive corruption in the country and that they were getting the country’s youth’s support to start a crackdown against it.
Senior Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that they had taken their protest against corruption to the streets. He suggested that lessons should be included in curriculum against corruption.
He said that the problem of corruption had not been addressed in the past, while dictators’ governments badly exacerbated the situation in the country. The minister suggested that corrupt officials should be socially boycotted.
He said that NAB should get rid of plea bargaining so that the big fish of corruption mafia may not escape from the net of accountability.
