ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday urged judiciary for prompt disposal of white-collar crime cases and that a combined action of relevant quarters could eradicate the menace of corruption from the country.

“Prompt decisions by the judiciary on the cases of corruption is required because delays caused dispensation of justice,” the president said while addressing at the seminar on ‘Corruption Free Pakistan: Pride of Nation’, held at the Presidency.

The president also stressed the need for respective roles of parliament and executive in making strict laws and their implementation to check corruption.

Terming corruption an impediment to the country’s growth, he said: “It is the collective responsibility of all tiers of the state and society to ensure its eradication. Strict laws, effective prosecution, and prompt dispensation of justice besides societal pressure are the important factors in checking corruption,” he added.

The event organised by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was held in connection with the International Anti-Corruption Day aimed at creating awareness among the people to fight corruption in society.

President Alvi said allowing greed to take over morality results in the adoption of corrupt practices and put a detrimental impact on society. He condemned the abuse of entrusted power for private gains and emphasised self-accountability to eliminate corruption.

The president lauded NAB for taking action against corruption, however, pointed out that the efforts of the anti-corruption watchdog alone could not prove effective unless supported by all segments of society.

The president said the pressure of society, and religious and spiritual beliefs also helped a person not to get deviated from the righteous path.

He said media, through whistle-blowing about corruption, could play a positive role, however, stressed that it should be about the actual exposure of fraud rather than pursuing out-of-context journalism.

The president said Pakistan was taking effective steps against corruption and appreciated NAB for making a huge recovery of Rs821 billion.

Speaking on the occasion NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal said NAB was committed to ending corruption in the country and had carried out 1,194 convictions with a total recovery of Rs821 billion, including the Rs538 billion in the last four years.

He said NAB also took action against its 200 officials on charges of corruption in four years.

He mentioned that foreign anti-corruption organisations had acknowledged the efficiency of NAB and had sought training on its ‘factum of deterrence’ methodology.

Country Representative United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Jeremy Milsom said extensive work had been taken up in Pakistan to fight corruption.

By preventing corruption and returning stolen assets, he said, the UNODC was unlocking resources for growth and new jobs, building resilience to future emergencies, empowering women and young people, and laying the foundations for a fairer future.

Later, President Alvi distributed certificates of appreciation among the NAB officers who had done a commendable job in the areas of investigation and prosecution.

Walk held to mark Anti-Corruption Day

A walk was held here on Thursday to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and highlight the ramifications of corrupt practices and corruption in Pakistan.

The walk was held to raise awareness among citizens and collectively raise their voice against the menace

The walk at the National Press Club was part of the nationwide campaign as walks were also held in Lahore, Karachi, Sukkur, Multan and Bahawalpur, along with several university campuses in the country.

The walks titled: “Anti-Corruption Awareness” were organsied by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.

Addressing the gathering Excecutive Director of SSDO, Syed Kausar Abbas, said that the motive of organising this walk was to give the citizens visibity in public spaces to highlight their opinions.

“It was equally imperative for civil society organisations, youth groups and all other stakeholders to also acknowledge and organise events that promote transparency and accountability,” he said.

The SSDO mobilised citizens from an array of diverse backgrounds such as civil society organizations, members from the transgender community, journalists, lawyers, public policy professionals, students, activists and from the informal sector.

The participants carried placards articulating messages against corruption, bringing to attention the utter destruction corruption brings to society, with its far-reaching effects that destroy institutions, legal processes and public trust.

The participants raised slogans against corruption such as “Corruption free is the way to be” and “Corruption aik lanat hai [Corruption is a curse]”, to express the disdain they felt at the intense permeation of corruption into many of Pakistan’s institutions and decision-making bodies, hampering development and suppressing common citizens.

It has been decided by the participants would hold similar events in future, so that citizens could once again gather together and provide a collaborative and united front to demonstrate their power in numbers and initiate public policy dialogue.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2021