Protecting traders, investors from harassment: NAB, businessmen begin consultations

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the business community have started consultations to devise a viable plan for protecting traders and investors from harassment.

The first meeting in this connection was held here on Thursday at the NAB Headquarters to discuss the ways and means to shield investors from harassment and provide them with full institutional support for economic progress. The meeting brought together senior NAB officials and representatives of leading chambers of commerce and industries to discuss measures for creating a business-friendly environment, protecting investors and promoting sustainable economic growth.

The participants agreed on the importance of strengthening institutional cooperation and developing practical measures to facilitate legitimate businesses, address investors’ concerns and remove impediments to economic activity.

The participants held detailed discussions on the challenges confronting the business community, particularly issues arising from interactions with various government departments, and explored institutional measures to eliminate unnecessary hurdles, ensure transparency, and provide effective support to legitimate investors. The meeting emphasized the importance of establishing a coordinated mechanism for addressing business-related complaints and strengthening investors’ confidence.

Speaking on the occasion, the ICCI President Mohammad Zikria Akbar Zia comprehensively highlighted the issues faced by businesses in their dealings with different government departments and stressed the need for their early resolution. He emphasized that investors and entrepreneurs should be treated as partners in national economic development rather than subjected to unnecessary procedural complications, undue scrutiny or harassment.

He further underscored that a transparent, predictable and supportive regulatory environment was essential to attracting domestic and foreign investment, expanding industrial activity and generating employment opportunities. He called for stronger coordination among NAB, relevant government departments and business representative bodies to protect genuine business activities while ensuring that accountability mechanisms remain focused on corruption and deliberate violations of the law.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman NAB Syed Ehtesham Qadir Shah, Prosecutor General Accountability Sohail Nasir, Chief of Staff Mohammad Bilal Riaz Burki, Assistant Director Zahid Usman, and others. Representatives of the business community included ICCI President Mohammad Zikria Akbar Zia, who is also the focal person of the Committee; President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Talat Mehmood, President of the Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, Secretary General, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shahid Khalil; and PPMA’s Arshad Mehmood.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026