Bureaucracy has vital role in country's progress

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice  Javed Iqbal (Retd.)said Tuesday that bureaucracy had a vital role in the progress and prosperity of the country.

Addressing the high ranked officials here at Punjab's Civil Secretariat, he highlighted the significance of bureaucracy and said that it was a collective responsibility to root out corruption from the society.

He said the NAB was an autonomous organization with a mandate to take action against corrupt elements and recover looted money from them.

The chairman said, strengthening national institutions would strengthen the country, adding that the NAB had recovered and deposited Rs 303 billion in the national exchequer which was a great achievement.

Javed Iqbal said that NAB had the same policy for everyone and it was an independent institution with no affiliation with any political party.

He said the government made policies but it was responsibility of bureaucracy to implement these policies. The bureaucracy should strive hard to ensure justice and redress the grievances of the people, he maintained.

He stressed the need for effective internal accountability system within the institutions and said that if the bureaucracy would work as per rules and laws then no body could intervene in their affairs.

The NAB Chairman said that a prominent change had been brought in NAB's working and investigation process, adding that he would personally monitor the complaints against higher officers including Secretary or Additional Secretary of any department and in service or retired bureaucrats.