SAARC Anti-Corruption forum kicks off in Islamabad
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ISLAMABAD: (APP) Minister for Law and Justice, Zahid Hamid on Monday said forming Anti-Corruption Forum of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is need of the hour to help promote coordinated efforts against the menace.
"Since issues and concerns of these nations are common, coordinated effort against corruption at regional level from SAARC platform is imperative," he was addressing an inaugural session of a two-day seminar of SAARC nations on Anti-Corruption here.
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The Minister said corruption could no longer be considered any country's internal problem, adding that the member states needed to work jointly by sharing best practices, expertise and experiences relating to global fight against corruption.
By arranging the seminar, he said, the government of Pakistan and NAB had initiated the process for regional cooperation in anti-corruption matters.
He said the NAB has the expertise, manpower and institutional mechanism to deal with corruption in a holistic manner, adding that Pakistan was ready to extend its full support to build and enhance capacity of anti-corruption authorities of the SAARC countries for effectively combating the menace.
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He said all national and provincial anti-corruption institutions were fully engaged in implementing the government's policy of zero tolerance against corruption and root out the menace from the society.
The Minister said legal mechanisms were in place to take punitive action against those found involved in this heinous offence.
He said NAB, being the apex anti-corruption organization, had been mandated with the responsibility of elimination of corruption through a holistic three-pronged approach of 'awareness, prevention and enforcement'.
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Sharing working of the NAB, he said, it formulated the national anti-corruption strategy, engaging all stakeholders in fight against corruption by tackling systemic weaknesses and promoting good governance.
Zahid Hamid said the NAB, which is Pakistan's designated central authority under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) regime, enjoyed partnership with a number of international fora.
"Its incessant anti-corruption efforts had been acknowledged by international corruption-watch organization. The marked improvement in Pakistan's ranking on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index during last three years is proof of the success of its efforts," he said.
The Minister reiterated Pakistan's commitment to economic and social uplift of the people of South Asian region.
