The National Accountability Bureau has introduced revolutionary reforms under which incomplete and unknown complaints will be weeded out at an early stage.
The new guidelines have been issued for fair redressal of complaints and to bring more efficiency and transparency in NAB’s operations.
Under the new guidelines, malicious and frivolous complaints will be treated as a punishable offense and such petitioners will be prosecuted in courts.
The new guidelines specify the parameters for submitting complaints, which include providing complete personal details of the applicant along with an affidavit acknowledging that the information provided in the complaint is correct. Further, if the allegations are not proved, the applicant will be liable for legal action under the law.
Taking into account the damage to the self-esteem and self-esteem of individuals against the code of conduct, the persons against whom the complaint is made will be addressed as “defendants” in the new guidelines. Additionally, the defendant’s identity will be kept confidential until proven guilty.
Dedicated Grievance Cells have been established at the NAB Headquarters and Regional Bureaus in Islamabad under the direct supervision of Chairman NAB and Deputy Chairman NAB to investigate complaints at the initial stage.
Initially, the complaint verification process will be ensured to be completed within a stipulated period of seven to fifteen days. During this period the defendant shall not be summoned.
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Specific guidelines have been issued for handling complaints against elected representatives, bureaucracy and businessmen. The identity of the defendants and government officials will be kept strictly confidential during the complaint verification process. Complaints against officers up to grade-19 will be taken up by the Regional Director Generals, while action on complaints against officers of grade-20 and above will be approved by Chairman NAB. Government officials will not be personally called to the NAB premises during the verification and inquiry phase.
Apart from this, Accountability Facilitation Cells are being established in the respective civil secretariats to verify the required information of the government officials keeping in mind their self-esteem and dignity. Similarly, separate Business Facilitation Cells comprising representation of concerned Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Realtors and Business Associations are being set up to process complaints against businessmen keeping in mind the dignified code of inquiry.
All regional bureaus will follow the procedure of feedback from the callers, while a proforma will be issued to all the visitors in both English and Urdu languages to provide their feedback in writing. had to be done, the interaction with the investigating officer and inquiry about the action of the investigating officer will be made and presented to the chain of command.
The new guidelines specify the procedures for pending complaints, while complaints that do not meet the criteria will be dealt with by the concerned regional bureau after taking appropriate steps.
No NAB officer was allowed to contact the defendants during the initial complaint verification process. If a complaint is received against a woman, she along with her blood relative will be called for investigation and in case the relative is not available, a female NAB officer will conduct the inquiry.
It was further decided that in future NAB will focus on mega corruption and money laundering cases.
