ISLAMABAD: Nat­ional Accountability Bur­eau Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal on Friday criticised Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for calling NAB a ‘corrupt organisation’.

According to a private TV channel, the NAB chief slammed the Punjab chief minister and said that those who now called NAB a corrupt organisation had finally opened their eyes to the scourge of corruption. Why couldn’t they watch and end the scourge when they were in power, the NAB chief asked.

Justice Iqbal was made NAB chief on Oct 8 after Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah reached consensus on the issue.

“What’s the objective of calling NAB a corrupt organisation just when its new chairman has taken over charge?” he asked.

He said NAB had played an important role in eliminating corruption from the country, adding that he would adopt a zero tolerance policy towards corrupt officials.

The Punjab chief minister had on Thursday clai­med that NAB was the most corrupt organisation of the country and that it was being used for political purposes.

Mr Sharif made the remarks after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law retired Capt Safdar were indicted in a NAB reference on the charges of corruption.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2017