National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman, Lieutenant General (retd) Nazir Ahmed, announced a historic achievement on Monday, revealing that the bureau had recovered Rs 3.8 trillion (approximately $13.57 billion) in just one year. Speaking at a special event held in observance of Anti-Corruption Day, the NAB chairman also highlighted that since its inception, the bureau has directly and indirectly recovered Rs 6.1 trillion.
Ahmed praised the exceptional performance of NAB’s regional offices, particularly those in Karachi, Sukkur, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He shared that NAB Karachi and Sukkur together had saved a total of Rs 3.5 trillion by recovering forest land spanning 1.8 million hectares. Additionally, NAB KP had achieved savings of Rs 194.9 billion through indirect and consequential measures.
The NAB chairman also noted that the bureau had processed over 22,000 applications, emphasizing that reforms implemented by the organization had led to a significant decline in the filing of false complaints—from 4,000 per month to just 400.
During his address, General Ahmed underscored that corruption remains the greatest impediment to sustainable development and economic prosperity. He reaffirmed NAB’s commitment to combating corruption, protecting national assets, recovering embezzled funds, and returning them to the public.
The event was attended by NAB Deputy Chairman Sohail Nasir, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Representative in Pakistan, as well as numerous senior NAB officials.
Ahmed also highlighted the importance of engaging the nation’s youth, noting that 65% of the population is under the age of 30. He announced plans to launch a public awareness campaign in collaboration with educational and research institutions, aimed at furthering NAB’s anti-corruption objectives.
In closing, the NAB chairman urged his officers to continue working with dedication and enthusiasm, particularly in providing relief to victims of real estate fraud. He also revealed that NAB had signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with 10 countries to streamline the resolution of cross-border corruption cases.
