National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal Friday said in order for the state of Medina to be built, personal interests will have to take a backseat to national ones, a private TV channel reported. “NAB has decided that it will not see the face. It will see the case on its merits,” he said while speaking to participants at an event, He said if holding people accountable is a crime, then NAB will keep on committing it continuously. “The country owes more than $100 billion hence those who looted the money will be held accountable,” he maintained.
He said numerous laws exist in Pakistan to keep corruption and money laundering in check. “Only implementation on these laws is needed. If we are to build the state of Medina, we must keep the national interest above personal interests,” he said.
Chairman says national interests will have to be kept above personal interests in order to build the State of Medina
The statement from NAB chief comes at a time when the government and the opposition are hitting out at each other, accusing each other of corruption and financial mismanagement.
On Wednesday, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif lashed out at the federal government and claimed that a ‘Niazi-NAB nexus’ was behind the move to freeze his assets. Shehbaz had said the courts had granted him bail on merit in the Ashiana Housing Scheme and the clean drinking water cases. A day later, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar responded to Shehbaz’s presser by alleging that the PML-N president had looted the country and laundered billions. He had alleged that Shehbaz’s assets grew by 70 percent in the last 10 years through illegal means. He challenged the former Punjab chief minister to answer 18 questions pertaining to his assets.
