Pakistan's NAB Chairman Demands Repeal of Rs500m Corruption Probe Threshold, Citing Ineffectiveness of Anti-Graft Laws.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed, asked lawmakers to drop the Rs500 million restriction that stops the agency from pursuing corruption cases involving government officials when the alleged amount is below that threshold. The amendment to NAB’s law means that many of the bureau’s investigations, including those against police station house officers, have been transferred to other bodies such as the Federal Investigation Agency. Ahmed said that the rule places a higher authority on a police SHO than on a NAB investigator. In a Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice hearing, Senator Farooq Naek explained that NAB can still prosecute individuals who violate cabinet or committee decisions, even though it cannot challenge cabinet decisions themselves. He cited the highly publicized Rs1.20 trillion Neelum‑Jhelum Hydropower Project, on which Rs513 billion was spent and design flaws were uncovered, as an example of the bureau’s work. The chairman noted that the private sector, including the so‑called sugar mafia, creates more than 45 percent of Pakistan’s total corruption, while politicians contribute about 6 percent and government officials about 11 percent. Senator Kamran Murtaza urged that the Rs500 million limit be removed for politicians as well, and Senator Abdul Qadir asked NAB to investigate the petroleum sector, where drilling has not yielded production for two decades. According to NAB’s briefing, the bureau has recovered assets worth $64 billion, including state and private land. This call highlights ongoing tensions over NAB’s powers and the government's willingness to allow corruption investigations that can affect high‑level officials and large public projects.