Government has finalized a broad based mutual legal assistance law to obtain evidence from foreign jurisdictions about financial crimes and mega corruption cases involving Pakistanis.

This was stated by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability, Shahzad Akbar while addressing a news conference in Islamabad today.

He said the law will soon be placed before the cabinet. He said it will be enforced first through an ordinance and then presented before the parliament.

He said this law is more open and will empower the National Accountability Bureau and FIA to carry out investigations as per international treaties.

Shahzad Akbar said a bilateral treaty is again being concluded with the Swiss authorities which will enable the country to get the details of the bank accounts opened by Pakistani nationals.

He said Pakistan has already signed a treaty with Britain which will help speed up the investigations into different high profile asset cases.

The Special assistant said he will meet his counterpart of national crime agency during his visit to Britain next week and hold discussions on pending requests for extradition including that of former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

He said we are also exploring the option of initiating civil proceedings in Britain as it will ensure early return of the plundered amount.

He said agreements will also be signed with China and UAE for the exchange of information and joint investigations to check the money laundering.

Shahzad Akbar said previous governments are responsible for current economic situation of the country. He said besides huge debt burden, the losses of public sector enterprises stood over one trillion rupees.

He said as the relevant institutions such as the FIA have been activated and being fully supported, therefore, cases of corruption and those of fake accounts are being unearthed.

Shahzad Akbar said over the last decade or so, no effort was made for the asset recovery despite the fact that countries such as China and India achieved great success in the asset recovery.