National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt. Gen. Nazir Ahmed (ret.) on Wednesday said the government plans to introduce real estate reforms within two months to overhaul regulatory practices, including abolishing the existing “file” system.
“The reforms will be presented before the federal cabinet for approval,” he told journalists in an informal chat, adding the existing file system would be abolished after implementation. Under the proposed changes, he claimed, full responsibility would rest with real estate developers.
According to the NAB chairman, cases against sitting lawmakers are being investigated. However, he clarified, the current NAB does not believe in issuing press releases of pending matters. Additionally, he said, NAB had referred several cases to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and anti-corruption departments. He said suspects deserve the same respect as investigators, emphasizing that the incumbent NAB “does not agree with what NAB did in the past.”
The former Army official also criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s diagnostic report on Pakistan as “completely baseless.” He alleged the IMF would never grant a “clean chit” to any country as that would reduce its relevance. The report he was referring to had alleged that persistent corruption and weak institutions continued to undermine the country’s economic development and pointed to a need for reforms within NAB.
During the interaction, the NAB chairman also claimed Interpol had issued red warrants for the arrest of Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz and his son, Ahmed, who serves as the organization’s chief executive. However, he admitted, it would prove difficult to extradite both men back to Pakistan to face courts.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed (ret.) also questioned the credibility of Transparency International and its methodology. “How can a survey of the entire country be conducted with 800 people?” he said, maintaining NAB had recovered more over the past three months than any comparable global body. All recovered funds, he explained, are deposited into the federal consolidated fund, with none retained by the bureau.