PESHAWAR: Director General, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shazad Saleem has said that if taxes are paid honestly in the country, there will be not need to seek loans from the World Bank or the International Monitory Fund.
He was speaking on “Say No to Corruption” in a programme at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology organised by Character Building Society. Dr Inam, one of the pioneers of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) Islamabad also graced the gathering.
NAB chief claimed that Pakistan was not a poor country but the main reason of economic weakness was the failure of the government to cover taxes. He called for across the board collection of taxes.
Quoting Malaysian leader Dr Mahtir Muhammad, he said,” Either you serve your own country or serve yourself.” The problem is that in our country a number of people only focus on accumulation of wealth at the cost of the country and its masses, he said.
In case of perfect collection of taxes we could gather much more then the present revenue but the problem was that NAB could not meddle in Federal Board of Revue (FBR) affairs and there is a big problem of tax avoiding practice, he said.
“No doubt, avoiding taxes is a big issue and the NAB could not touch the FBR mechanism of taxes,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said that NAB plays a vital role in its own capacity. “We have delivered on one hand and keep a faultless check on corrupt practices in the country on the other,” he said.
Answering another query, he said that they have some sort of mechanism to dig out Pakistani money shifted to the foreign banks. Elaborating further, he said that there are billion dollars in foreign banks.
The educated youth should not move out from the country in search of jobs and comfortable/peaceful life, he said, adding that Pakistan has great potential to become vibrant economic power.
Answering a question, he said that three things are extremely vital for eradication of corruption. “There is need of a strong well of political leadership for making determined efforts; masses complete and unbiased support and the role of judiciary is also very vital to discourage corrupt practices,” he said.
If these three areas work in cohesion, making coordinated efforts then no one could devour the public money or sending it to the foreign banks as to deprive the country and its people from economic development and prosperity, he said. Shahzad Saleem said that NAB has so far recovered Rs 265 billion and it has been working on a mechanism to eradicate the menace of corruption from the society. “Everyone should play his/her due role to achieve
