Property tycoon Malik Riaz on Tuesday appealed for “dialogue and a dignified solution” amidst Bahria Town’s legal troubles.
His appeal comes as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on petitions against the proposed auction of Bahria Town properties. The assets were attached in connection with a plea bargain agreement reached in the £190 million Al Qadir Trust case.
The development adds on to the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) previous actions against Riaz, who owns Bahria Town and is an absconder in the case.
“I would like to make a final appeal from the bottom of my heart that we be given a chance to return to serious dialogue, and a dignified solution,” Riaz said in a post on X.
“For this purpose, we assure you that we will participate in any arbitration and implement its decision 100 per cent,” the property tycoon added. “On this occasion, I also assure you that if the arbitration decision requires payment of money from our side, we will ensure its payment, God willing.”
Riaz said that he had confidence that the institutions of Pakistan would act “with justice, wisdom, and prudence, and they will play a positive role in leading us out of this difficult juncture”.
Riaz also said that Bahria Town’s operations across the country had been severely paralysed.
“Our cash flow has been completely destroyed, it has become impossible to provide daily services, we are unable to pay the salaries of our tens of thousands of staff, and the situation has reached a point where we are being forced to completely shut down all Bahria Town activities across Pakistan,” Riaz said.
However, he added, “We are certainly one step behind this last step, but the situation on the ground is getting worse by the minute.”
He also apologised to the Bahria Town residents and stakeholders who were “facing hardship due to our complusions”, adding, “I thank all our families for their suffering.”
In 2019, the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom had agreed to a settlement worth £190 million with Riaz’s family.
Earlier that year, the Supreme Court had accepted Riaz’s offer of Rs460 billion as settlement dues by his Bahria Town after it was found to have illegally acquired thousands of acres of land on Karachi’s outskirts in district Malir.
Hours after the NCA verdict, Riaz had tweeted that the recovered amount would go to the Supreme Court against the fine worth Rs460bn.
Subsequently, the money was transferred to the Supreme Court’s accounts, instead of the government’s account. When the NCA had announced its decision, the then special assistant to the prime minister on accountability, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, had claimed that the money would directly come to the state.
On being questioned over this ambiguity later, Akbar had replied: “Is the Supreme Court not part of the government? So if the money goes to the apex court, it means that the money comes to the state.”
Last month, the IHC issued notices to respondents on a petition of NAB seeking to vacate the stay order on its move to auction six properties of Bahria Town in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
In June, NAB ordered the freezing of over 450 immovable properties owned by various individuals named in the Bahria Town Karachi land grab case.
In the same month, the IHC had issued a stay order halting the NAB’s planned auction of Bahria Town’s properties. The auction was scheduled to be held the same day, i.e. June 12.
Riaz had said in May last year that he was being pressured for “political motives”, but asserted that he would not bow before anyone. The real estate tycoon said he had been pushed to the wall and was facing constant losses in his business.
But he did not mention who was pressuring him, and for what. Riaz is known for his links with political parties, the media, as well as the civil and military establishment, and has been considered ‘untouchable’ in the past.
Dawn had contacted a number of political experts and politicians, but nearly everyone was reluctant to comment on his ‘sad tale’, saying he had not disclosed who he was holding responsible for his woes, and the reason why he was being pressured.
