Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz Hussain on Tuesday appealed for “dialogue” to resolve his legal woes, as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to proceed with the auction of his assets.
In a post on X, Riaz claimed Bahria Town’s operations across Pakistan had been “severely paralyzed” due to the arrests of dozens of staff members, freezing of the company’s bank accounts, and the seizure of staff vehicles. “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,” he claimed.
Stressing the company was “one step behind” this stage, he lamented the situation was growing worse by the minute. Claiming the situation had hampered ongoing development and routine maintenance activities, he warned it risked the investment of millions of Pakistanis who faced “uncertainty and mental anguish.”
Maintaining his belief that the “institutions of Pakistan” would play a positive role in resolving the issue, he sought a “chance to return to serious dialogue and a dignified solution.” Claiming Bahria Town was willing to participate in any arbitration, he vowed to implement its decision, even if it required the payment of fines.
Riaz’s plea followed the IHC dismissing petitions filed against the planned auction of five Bahria Town properties in Rawalpindi and one in Islamabad, scheduled by NAB for Aug. 7. The properties are facing sale after Riaz was declared an absconder in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
During proceedings, NAB prosecutor Rafay Maqsood argued that Riaz and his son, Ali, had defaulted on payments after entering into a plea bargain under the £190 million settlement. To recover this amount, he said, NAB had to auction the pledged properties. He recalled the IHC had stayed the auction on June 12, prompting NAB to file an application to vacate the order.
In its notification of the auction, the anti-graft watchdog has said successful bidders would have to pay 5% of the value of the properties immediately, followed by 10% in a month and the remaining 85% in three months. Listing the available properties, it said corporate offices in Phase II of Bahria Town Rawalpindi had an estimated value of Rs. 871 million and Rs. 881million; Rubaish Marquee and Lawn in Islamabad had a value of Rs. 488 million; Arena Cinema had a value of Rs. 1.1 billion; Bahria Town International Academy had a value of Rs. 1.07 billion; and Safari Club had a value of Rs. 1.2 billion.