NAB Claims Rs9.17 Trillion Recovery in First Nine Months of 2026
The NAB recovery drive has netted assets worth Rs9,171.92 billion between January and September 2026, the bureau’s chairman told journalists in Islamabad.
Speaking at a briefing for senior journalists in Islamabad, the chairman said the auction of reclaimed Pakistan Railways land could generate more than Rs10 trillion. He argued the proceeds could finance the long-delayed Main Line-1 (ML-I) railway project without foreign borrowing.
Butt said the bureau had recovered railway land worth more than Rs6 trillion after just two and a half months of work. “If they are properly monitored and auctioned, the amount could exceed Rs10 trillion,” he said.
NAB recovery claim extends to power sector
The chairman said NAB expected significantly larger recoveries from the power sector than those secured from the railways. He described practices in the sector as “daylight robbery” and said the bureau’s scrutiny would bring numerous matters into the open during the first half of 2027.
The bureau would next examine entities operating under the Ministry of Industries and Production, he added.
The chairman’s remarks build on NAB’s planned crackdown on power plants, announced earlier, as the bureau turns its attention to powerful interests in the energy sector.
What the bureau says it recovered
According to the briefing, the recoveries between January and September 2026 alone amounted to Rs9,171.92 billion. Butt added that NAB had recovered cash and assets worth Rs26 trillion between March 2023 and December 2025.
Separate reporting on the briefing said the recoveries included 235,622 kanals of Pakistan Railways land in Punjab and Sindh, valued at Rs6.78 trillion, with a further 225,000 acres identified. The bureau also reported forest land worth Rs1.712 trillion in Balochistan, government land valued at Rs563 billion in Lahore, and Rs207 billion recovered in public-fraud cases and returned to victims.
Butt also claimed that money laundering outflows from Pakistan had stopped. He accused some countries that champion democracy of shielding suspected money launderers and called for a comprehensive overhaul of the Capital Development Authority, saying its existing system was not functioning properly.
It is worth noting that the bulk of NAB’s reported recoveries consists of land and other non-cash assets reclaimed for state institutions, rather than cash. Earlier reporting on the bureau’s record showed cash recoveries of about Rs1.124 trillion, with the rest coming in the form of assets.
*Source: The Express Tribune’s report on NAB’s claims.*
FAQs
How much has NAB claimed to recover in 2026?
NAB Chairman Lt Gen (retired) Nazir Ahmed Butt has claimed recoveries of Rs9,171.92 billion between January and September 2026.
How could the recoveries fund the ML-I project?
The chairman says auctioning reclaimed Pakistan Railways land, worth more than Rs6 trillion and potentially over Rs10 trillion, could finance the Main Line-1 railway upgrade without foreign loans.
What is NAB’s next target after railways?
The bureau says its power-sector scrutiny will conclude in the first half of 2027, after which it will examine entities under the Ministry of Industries and Production.
