KARACHI: Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a reference against real estate tycoon, Malik Riaz Hussain, and 32 other individuals over illegal transfer of government lands for a mega project in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, a NAB spokesperson said on Saturday.
Hussain, who currently lives in Dubai, is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen and the country’s largest private employers. He is best known as the chairman of M/s Bahria Town, which claims to be Asia’s largest private real estate developer and has projects in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and other cities.
NAB filed the reference in an accountability court in Karachi nominating Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Sharjeel Inaam Memon, then local body minister and now information minister of Sindh, among 33 people for illegally transferring government land to M/s Bahria Town for its Bahria Town Karachi project in 2013 and 2014.
“Accused persons in connivance with each other illegally transferred the government land, initialy admeasuring 7220 acres, to M/s Bahria Town,” the anti-graft body said in the reference. “The said illegal transfer of government land to Bahria Town was made under the garb of adjustment/exchange/consolidation.”
It said the accused persons acted as an “organized syndicate” to cause cumulative losses of Rs700 billion ($2.5 billion) to the national exchequer, requesting the court to try them for committing the “offenses of corruption and corrupt practices.”
The development came days after NAB said it had initiated the process to seek Hussain’s extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who was also charged in another land corruption case involving former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife.
A Pakistani court last month sentenced Khan to 14 years in prison and his wife, Bushra, to seven years, in the case in which they are accused of receiving land as a bribe from Hussain through the Al-Qadir charitable trust in exchange for illegal favors during Khan’s premiership from 2018 to 2022. Khan says he and his wife were trustees and did not benefit from the land transaction. Hussain too denies any wrongdoing relating to the case.
“We have written to the Federal Investigation Agency for the extradition,” a NAB spokesman told Arab News on Wednesday, adding that the FIA would now pursue the case.
Prior to that, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that Pakistan would use its extradition treaty with the UAE to bring Hussain back.
Last month, NAB also cautioned people against investing in Hussain’s new real estate venture to build luxury apartments in Dubai.
“If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would be tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal and legal proceedings,” it said.
Hussain responded to NAB in a post on X, saying that “fake cases, blackmailing and greed of officers” had forced him to relocate from Pakistan because he was not willing to be a “political pawn.”
Pakistan anti-graft body files reference against property tycoon over illegal transfer of Karachi land
https://arab.news/zv3tj
Pakistan anti-graft body files reference against property tycoon over illegal transfer of Karachi land
- Malik Riaz Hussain and others are accused of having over 7,000 acres of government land transferred illegally to Bahria Town Karachi
- The development comes days after National Accountability Bureau said it had initiated process to seek Hussain’s extradition from UAE
Pakistan missions in Saudi Arabia establish helplines, airport teams to facilitate passengers
- Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Gulf nations last week
- Conflict has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims, other passengers in Kingdom’s western regions
Islamabad: The Pakistani embassy in Riyadh and the country’s consulate in Jeddah have set up helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers suffering flight disruptions, state media reported on Sunday.
Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched strikes against US bases in the Gulf following US-Israeli strikes on Iran last week. The conflict has affected key air corridors and forced airlines to cancel or reroute thousands of flights.
Hundreds of international and domestic flights have been canceled in Pakistan since the conflict began on Feb. 28, with most of them scheduled to fly between the South Asian country and destinations in the Middle East.
“As per the instructions of the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah have set up round the clock helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media outlet noted that the Middle East war has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims and other passengers in the western regions of Saudi Arabia.
“The situation of Pakistani pilgrims and passengers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah is stable, while minor operational restrictions and risk warnings are in place in these airspaces,” Radio Pakistan added.
Earlier this week, the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) denied media reports of a partial closure of the Pakistani airspace from Mar. 3 and Mar. 31.
It said Pakistan’s entire airspace remains fully open, safe, and available for all civil aviation traffic, including commercial flights. It added that alternative routing options are routinely used for affected flows.
“There are no restrictions on commercial operations, arrivals, departures, or overflights across Pakistan,” the PAA said. “Our air traffic controllers and airport teams are fully operational and managing traffic normally.”
