ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recorded a marked downward trend in the incidence of corruption-related matters, a shift largely attributed to recent legislative reforms. According to the annual performance data for the year 2025, the bureau witnessed a 24 percent reduction in fresh complaints, reflecting a significant change in the legal landscape. This decline is even more pronounced in specific sectors as a substantial 52 percent drop has been observed in complaints filed against public office holders and businesspersons.
While the overall volume of new filings has decreased, the bureau noted that a decline in the conviction rate has also come to the fore. Officials attribute this trend to the transfer of 246 NAB references to other legal forums following recent amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). The recent NAB reforms introduced stricter, affidavit-based criteria for complaints to filter out malicious or frivolous filings.
The authority has implemented a strict policy against entertaining bogus cases that lack concrete evidence or are built upon hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations.
The disposal data for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2025, reveals that 23,411 complaints were processed, with 23,288 of those being concluded within the year. A significant portion of these, totaling 7,705 cases, were identified as non-cognizable or frivolous.
Regarding cognizable complaints, the bureau initiated 92 direct inquiries and 21 investigations, while over 15,000 cases were linked to existing ongoing matters. Additionally, the bureau processed 367 Complaint Verifications (CVs), with 128 of those being upgraded into formal inquiries. In the judicial arena, the tabulation of cases in the appellate and constitutional jurisdictions at the high courts provides a further indication of the bureau’s legal standing. In the appellate jurisdiction, 50 cases were filed during the year, with 104 decided in favour of NAB and 126 against, leaving 850 cases under process. The constitutional jurisdiction showed a much higher volume of favourable outcomes, with 2,325 cases decided in favour of the bureau compared to 801 decided against it. Currently, 1,550 constitutional matters remain pending as the bureau continues to navigate the evolving legal framework.
