The Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Nazir Ahmed, announced on Wednesday that new real estate reforms will be introduced within the next two months to overhaul the sector’s regulatory framework.
Speaking during an informal media briefing, he said the proposed reforms will be submitted to the federal cabinet for approval. He added that the current file-based system in the real estate sector will be abolished once the reforms are implemented, with full responsibility shifted to developers.
The NAB chief also stated that cases involving parliamentarians are still under process, though the bureau has stopped issuing press releases on such matters. He noted that several cases have been transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and provincial anti-corruption bodies.
Emphasising fairness in investigations, he remarked that suspects should be treated with the same respect as investigators, adding that “the current NAB does not agree with what NAB did in the past.”
Commenting on international reports, Nazir Ahmed criticised the International Monetary Fund’s governance and corruption assessment, calling its findings “baseless” and arguing that the IMF does not give any country a clean bill of health. He also questioned Transparency International’s credibility, raising concerns about its funding and methodology.
Highlighting performance, he claimed that NAB’s recoveries over the past three months were unprecedented globally. He further clarified that all recovered amounts are deposited into Pakistan’s Federal Consolidated Fund and are not retained by NAB.
