Corruption, terrorism have close nexus, says NAB chairman

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said on Saturday that there is a link between corruption and terrorism. 

“There is no doubt that the corruption and terrorism have a close link as the illegal money earned through corruption is used in terrorist activities so the menace of corruption should be rooted out from the country to make the country stronger,” he said in a talk with The News/Jang here.

He said it was encouraging that the campaign against corruption was moving forward in the country while the awareness about corruption was being initiated in other countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Endorsing the decree of the Saudi Ulema Council in which they declared that the fight against corruption is the same as fighting against terrorism, the NAB chairman said there was no doubt that corruption and terrorism had a nexus.

The NAB chairman vowed to eliminate the menace of corruption from the country, saying Pakistan would then be a stronger country.

He added that he would take all the provinces into confidence on the accountability process as the whole country came under the scope of the bureau.

Justice Iqbal said the principle of "Accountability for All" would be strictly implemented and whosoever was found involved in corruption would face accountability. "NAB is not meant for victimisation and we will ensure to restore its prestige," he noted.

NAB should work on the basis of transparency, gather evidence and complete inquiries and investigations so that corrupt elements could be sentenced by respective accountability courts, high courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan on the basis of solid proofs. “The proper prosecution of cases would enhance NAB's reputation,” he added.

Justice Iqbal said he would personally hear people’s complaints every last Thursday of the month from 2pm to 4pm at the NAB Headquarters where all senior officials would also be present.

NAB has asked the people to bring their national identity cards along with their applications with solid evidence.

Originally published in The News