ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday stressed the need for making the accountability process more transparent and effective.
Addressing a seminar on International Anti-Corruption Day, he said the people and institutions responsible should jointly make efforts to stop corruption. He added that progress had been made towards the elimination of corruption during the current government’s tenure.
The president noted that active media, political parties and civil society were also keeping an eye on corruption because of which the utilisation of public resources had improved. He added that it should be targeted keeping aside vested interests.
Speaking on the occasion, Law Minister Zahid Hamid said a draft law to review the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance had been prepared, which would be tabled in parliament.
Hamid said corruption was an impediment to economic growth and prosperity, hindered economic development by reducing domestic investment, discouraged foreign direct investment and resulted in wastage of resources.
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra said his institution was a strong proponent of the fight against corruption and had partnered with NAB for this purpose. He said corruption could be tackled if a bottom-up approach is adopted.
NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said corruption not only left disproportionate effects on society but also undermined democracy. He said NAB had devised a comprehensive strategy to exterminate this menace.
Highlighting NAB’s policy, he said it had started an anti-corruption campaign with particular focus on educating students about the harmful effects of corruption, as they were the future of the country. He added that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with the Higher Education Commission in this regard.
The chairman said the standard operating procedures that streamlined NAB’s process had been posted on the website for the public’s information. He said the duration of an investigation after the filing of a reference was 10 months. He added that an increase in the number of filed and verified references in the last few years endorsed the efforts of the organisation.
