The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will publish photographs of fraud suspects in newspaper advertisements, Chairman Lieutenant General retired Nazir Ahmed announced.
Ahmed said NAB prioritises practical accountability measures over symbolic gestures, warning that fraudsters would face intensified public exposure and legal consequences.
He stated that the business community had not received adequate recognition for its economic contributions, noting that 19 of 20 chamber-related cases brought before NAB had been successfully resolved.
Ahmed announced a comprehensive real estate reform strategy designed to improve transparency, reduce fraud, and restructure property transactions to involve only three clearly defined stakeholders.
He declared that cash-based property dealings would be eliminated entirely, while the existing file-based property system would become obsolete within four to five months.
Each plot would be assigned a unique barcode-based identification number to minimise fraudulent activity, while all real estate approvals would be processed under a single administrative roof.
A NAB official at director level would be incorporated into the regulatory framework overseeing the real estate sector to strengthen institutional oversight and enforcement capacity.
Ahmed alleged that significant portions of the Ring Road project in Lahore involved government land transferred to private individuals before being subsequently reacquired by state authorities.
He also claimed that Punjab province holds the economic potential to generate output worth $18 billion, representing a major opportunity for provincial development and investment growth.
On financial recoveries, Ahmed stated that NAB had recovered Rs15 trillion over the last three years, a figure he described as a dramatic improvement over previous performance.
He noted that cumulative recoveries from 1999 to 2023 totalled Rs880 billion, contrasting sharply with the Rs15 trillion recovered during the most recent three-year period alone.
Ahmed criticised what he described as a real estate mafia, warning that individuals engaged in fraudulent property schemes would face strict legal punishment and full public accountability.
