National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice retired Javed Iqbal on Tuesday addressed allegations and “sinister propaganda” against the watchdog, adding that those who owned plazas in Dubai were not able to justify their sources of income.
Addressing the chamber of commerce in Islamabad, Iqbal said NAB took the first step and went after people who were untouchable until a few years ago, adding that “intimidation, threats or blackmailing” will not affect the watchdog’s work. Without naming anyone, Iqbal said:
“People whom you couldn’t look in the eye, whom you couldn’t touch, whom you couldn’t summon even in your dreams — NAB summoned them,” he told the traders. “When NAB asked them that a few years ago, you used to own a Honda motorcycle and today you have plazas in Dubai […] where did all of this come from? They had no answer [and] they thought that it was better to leave the country.”
He said in the past three years, since he assumed charge as the NAB chairperson, the watchdog had recovered Rs487 billion.
Iqbal went on to say that the accountability watchdog was not working against the business community and rejected allegations that businessmen were forced to flee the country because of NAB. He said that businessmen who had left the country “for a better future, went [abroad] of their own accord”.
In several cases, he said, people who were nominated in corruption references had requested permission to talk directly to the complainants for settlements and NAB had never objected to it He added that NAB was not pursuing tax cases against members of the business community any more…..Source: dawn.com
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
