Syed Burhan says Bureau has begun probe into corruption allegations against Punjab minister Rana Mashhood, several other key officials
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab Director General Syed Burhan Ali on Wednesday said that the corruption watchdog was carrying out indiscriminate action against corrupt elements to ensure accountability in the democratic system.
Talking to Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami in his talkshow DNA on Channel 24, Burhan, a former army major, said the allegations of political victimization against NAB were unfounded because the Bureau was working according to the legal parameters.
“When NAB was founded, its primary function was to identify and nab corrupt elements. Now NAB is playing three major roles – awareness, prevention and enforcement of anti-corruption laws,” he said.
On Nizami’s question that politicians were alleging NAB of bringing out old corruption cases, Burhan admitted that there had been undue delay in pursuing those cases.
Citing Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s concerns over a NAB probe into construction of a road leading to the Sharifs’ estate in Jatti Umra, Raiwind, Burhan said that the Bureau was investigating if there had been misappropriation of public money in the project.
“We are only following up the probe which had been left pending for unknown reasons,” he added.
“The delays were also caused by the decrease in investigating officers between 2008 and 2013 as several officials deputed in NAB had to be repatriated to their parent organizations. This led to a backlog of cases and resulted in inordinate delay in investigations,” he said.
Burhan said a perception was being deliberately propagated that NAB was working at the behest of the ruling party. “Such allegations are being made by the same corrupt mafia that is panicking because of the NAB’s present proactive role,” he said.
The NAB Punjab DG also revealed that the Bureau has started an investigation into corruption allegations made against Punjab minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed.
“NAB Punjab has so far arrested 120 people, including key political leaders and senior bureaucrats, on corruption charges. NAB has also taken up the Nandipur power project case and will launch an investigation soon.” He added that NAB only arrests those people against whom substantive evidence is available with the Bureau.
Syed Burhan denied that NAB obtained any share from the money recovered from corruption accused in form of plea bargains etc.
The official said that NAB law does not allow bail to the accused in any case, however courts are allowing pre and post-arrest bails. He did not elaborate on the subject.
“NAB must be given complete autonomy to weed out corruption,” he said, lamenting the propaganda being made against the Bureau.
