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National Accountability Bureau

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National Accountability Bureau
قومی احتساب بیورو

NAB Office, Lahore
Agency overview
Formed1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Preceding agency
  • Ehtesab Cell[1]
JurisdictionPakistan
HeadquartersG-5, Shahrah-i-Jamuriat, Islamabad.
Agency executive
Parent departmentAutonomous
Websitewww.nab.gov.pk

The National Accountability Bureau (Urdu: قومی احتساب بیورو; abbreviated NAB) is Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Its chairman is Nazir Ahmed Butt, a retired general.

History

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The Ehtesab Act, 1997 established an Ehtesab Cell, charged with the investigation and prosecution of corruption.[1]

Under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, the NAB was established as the cell's successor, and given the additional responsibility of preventing and raising awareness of corruption.[2] The NAB is also responsible for money-laundering investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.[3]

Organization

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The principal officers of the NAB are its Chairman and Prosecutor General. Its headquarters are in Islamabad. There are regional bureaus under Directors General in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Sukkur and Multan.[4] There are four sub-offices (for Gwadar, Hyderabad, Gilgit and Baltistan, and Chamman[5]) under Additional Directors.[4]

The current senior management of NAB is as follows:-[4]

Designation Name of officer
Chairman NAB Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmed Butt[6]
Prosecutor General of Accountability Syed Ihtesham Qadir Shah[7]
Deputy Chairman NAB Sohail Nasir[8]
Director General (Operations) Amjad Majeed Aulakh [9][10]
Director General (Rawalpindi) Addl. IG Waqar Ahmed Chauhan[11]
Director General (Lahore) Add. IG Mirza Faran Baig [12]
Director General (Karachi) DIG Javed Akbar Riaz [13]
Director General (KPK) Farmanullah[14]
Director General (Balochistan) Nauman Aslam [15]
Director General (Sukkur) Muhammad Amir Butt[16]
Director General (Multan) Asim Lodhi [17]
Director General (Headquarters) Engr. Masood Alam[18]
Director General (Training & Research) Irfan Naeem Mangi [19]
Director General (Awareness & Prevention) Izhar Ahmed Awan[20]
Director General (Human Resource Management) Naveed Haider [21]

The Federal Public Service Commission is responsible for recruitment of Assistant Directors.[22] Newly recruited Assistant Directors attend a five to seven month 'Investigators Basic Induction Course' and are then posted to the central headquarters of the NAB or its regional bureaus.[23]

The NAB's Forensic Science Lab was inaugurated by Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, then Chairman, on 20 October 2015. It assists investigations by offering expert opinions on forensic matters.[24]

The NAB has also established a Pakistan Anti-Corruption Academy.[25]

For each region or sub-office there is an Accountability Court, which tries offences under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.[2] The Accountability Courts are completely independent from NAB, which are headed by District & Sessions Judge or Additional District & Sessions Judge. The judges are posted for three years term on deputation from the provincial judiciary.[2]

Performance

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Since its establishment, NAB has recovered Rs. 891 billion out of which Rs. 543 billion has been indirectly recovered in the form of government's or public usurped land.[26][page needed]

The conviction rate of NAB is 75%, which is way higher than Federal Investigation Agency, provincial Anti-Corruption Establishments, Police and other investigative agencies in Pakistan.[26]

Criticism

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In the Broadsheet case, the NAB has been accused of making payments to the wrong person as settlements and has been held by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) of 'conspiring' to defraud and financially harm Broadsheet LLC.[27][28] According to an editorial in Dawn, the NAB's actions cost Pakistan's taxpayers $28 million in payments as damages as well as a loss of face.[29]

Allegations and controversies

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In December 2018, an educationist Mian Javed Ahmed died in Camp Jail, Lahore, while in custody facing charges brought by NAB. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, former vice-chancellor of Punjab University, who was also arrested by NAB over allegations of illegal appointments, described the bureau’s detention facilities as “torture cells,” raising further concerns about the treatment of detainees in NAB custody.[30]

In July 2020, Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that NAB had violated the rights to fair trial and due process in the prolonged detention of opposition politicians Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique, who were held for 15 months without sufficient grounds. The court granted them bail and criticized NAB for acting with disregard for the law and fundamental rights, describing the case as a clear example of unlawful detention. The decision prompted widespread criticism of NAB, with the Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council condemning its actions as politically motivated. Human Rights Watch and other observers called for reforms, citing concerns over NAB’s alleged use as a tool to harass political opponents and its broad, unchecked powers granted under a 1999 ordinance. The European Commission and Pakistani courts also raised concerns about the agency’s perceived bias and arbitrary use of arrest powers, while several high-profile cases, including the detention of media figures and political leaders, were cited as examples of abuse.[30]

In August 2025, Khawaja Asif alleged that more than half of Pakistan’s civil bureaucracy had acquired property in Portugal and was pursuing its citizenship. In response, the NAB stated that it had no evidence or intelligence to support the minister’s claims and confirmed that no related investigations were underway. Concerned officials emphasized that while instances of corruption had occurred, such sweeping accusations were unsubstantiated.[31][32]

List of chairmen of NAB

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The Chairman, National Accountability Bureau is to be appointed by the Federal Government in case the post becomes vacant after consultation between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly for a fixed three years term which is non-extendable. Below is the list of chairmen.[33]

Name of Chairperson Entered Office Left Office
Syed Muhammad Amjad[34][35] 16-11-1999 25-09-2000
Khalid Maqbool[36][37] 26-09-2000 26-10-2001
Munir Hafiez[38][39] 01-11-2001 31-10-2005
Shahid Aziz[40][41] 11-11-2005 03-07-2007
Nawaid Ahsan [42] 06-07-2007 13-06-2010
Javed Zia Qazi (Acting) [43] 14-06-2010 01-09-2010
Syed Deedar Hussain Shah[44][45] 08-10-2010 10-03-2011
Javed Zia Qazi (Acting) [46] 11-03-2011 09-10-2011
Fasih Bokhari[47] 10-10-2011 25-08-2013
Saeed Ahmed Sargana (Acting) [48] 26-08-2013 07-10-2013
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry[49] 08-10-2013 07-10-2017
Javed Iqbal[50][51] 11-10-2017 03-03-2022
Zahir Shah (acting) [52] 04-06-2022 20-07-2022
Aftab Sultan 21-07-2022 21-02-2023
Nasrullah 25-02-2023 03-03-2023
Lt.General (R) Nazir Ahmed Butt[6] 4 March 2023 Present

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b NA website
  2. ^ a b c "The National Accountability Ordinance, 1999" (PDF). pakistancode.gov.pk. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 Act No. VII of 2010" (PDF). fmu.gov.pk. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "National Accountability Bureau".
  5. ^ "NAB Balochistan established Sub-office in Chaman to increase easy access against corrupt practices". 3 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Lt Gen (Retd) Nazir Ahmad Butt appointed new NAB chief". 4 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Appointment of Syed Ehtisham Qadir Shah as Prosecutor General of the National Accountability Bureau". molaw.gov.pk. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Appointment of Sohail Nasir as Deputy Chairman, National Accountability Bureau". molaw.gov.pk. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  9. ^ "DG NAB Lahore Amjad Majeed Aulakh transferred to NAB Headquarters - Breaking - Aaj News". Aaj English TV. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Major reshuffle in NAB Lahore: DG Amjad Aulakh transferred - Islamabad 51". 24 December 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Postings and transfers in NAB". www.thenews.com.pk. 16 March 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Mirza Faran Baig appointed DG NAB Lahore". The Nation. 5 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Posting, transfer of NAB DGS". 15 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Postings and transfers in NAB". www.thenews.com.pk. 16 March 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Major reshuffle in NAB". 7 August 2024.
  16. ^ "NAB Announces Promotions for 4 New Director Generals". www.4thpillarpost.com. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  17. ^ https://24newshd.tv/06-May-2025/senior-nab-officers-transferred-and-promoted
  18. ^ "NAB Announces Promotions for 4 New Director Generals". www.4thpillarpost.com. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Major reshuffle in NAB". 5 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Major reshuffle in NAB". 7 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Major reshuffle in NAB Lahore: DG Amjad Aulakh transferred - Islamabad 51". 24 December 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  22. ^ Official Gazette nab.gov.pk
  23. ^ "Training Plan 2020" (PDF). nab.gov.pk.
  24. ^ "NAB has established forensic laboratory having facilities of question documents and finger prints' analysis". 5 September 2020.
  25. ^ "NAB sets up Pakistan Anti-Corruption Academy". 17 February 2021.
  26. ^ a b "NAP Annual Report 2022" (PDF). nab.gov.pk.
  27. ^ Syed, Wajid Ali (18 January 2021). "NAB 'conspired' to defraud Broadsheet". The News Pakistan.
  28. ^ Malik, Hasnaat (10 June 2020). "NAB seeks $17m for payment of penalty". Express Tribune.
  29. ^ "Broadsheet Judgement". The Dawn. 20 January 2021.
  30. ^ a b "Pakistan: End Anti-Corruption Agency's Abuses | Human Rights Watch". 6 August 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  31. ^ Abbasi, Ansar (7 August 2025). "Khawaja Asif's Portugal allegation stirs bureaucratic backlash". International The News. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  32. ^ TV, SAMAA (6 August 2025). Khawaja Asif Accuses Bureaucracy of Buying Properties in Portugal | Shocking Allegations. Retrieved 18 September 2025 – via www.samaa.tv.
  33. ^ "Average tenure of 9 NAB chairmen has been 2.55 years". 22 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Who is the Current Chairman of NAB?". 17 May 2022.
  35. ^ "NAB's first chief appears before JIT". 30 June 2017.
  36. ^ "Gen Maqbool to be new Punjab governor". 27 October 2001.
  37. ^ "Tariq ready to appear before Broadsheet body". 2 February 2021.
  38. ^ "Refworld | Pakistan: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), including its mandate, legal framework and powers; whether there have been any reports of allegations of corruption or bias against the NAB".
  39. ^ "National strategy against corruption need of hour, NAB chairman briefs Balochistan cabinet". 18 February 2004.
  40. ^ "Lt-Gen Shahid appointed NAB chairman". 10 November 2005.
  41. ^ "NAB Chairman Resigns". 9 May 2007.
  42. ^ "NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan resigns". Dawn. 24 February 2010.
  43. ^ "Appointment of NAB acting chief challenged". 19 June 2010.
  44. ^ "Deedar named new NAB chairman". 8 October 2010.
  45. ^ "Supreme Court asks NAB chief Deedar Shah to pack up". 10 March 2011.
  46. ^ "SC directs govt to appoint NAB chairman". 21 June 2011.
  47. ^ "SC declares NAB chairman Fasih Bukhari's appointment null, void". 28 May 2013.
  48. ^ "After NAB chief removal: Deputy chairman in trouble too". 30 May 2013.
  49. ^ "Chairman NAB: Qamar Zaman Chaudhry notified over appointment". 10 October 2013.
  50. ^ "Hot seat: Justice Javed Iqbal new NAB chief". 8 October 2017.
  51. ^ "Javed Iqbal's tenure as NAB chairman comes to an end". 3 June 2022.
  52. ^ "Zahir Shah appointed acting NAB chairman as Javed Iqbal's tenure comes to an end". 2 June 2022.
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