Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistan’s anti-graft body auctions three properties owned by top real estate firm


Pakistan’s anti-graft body auctions three properties owned by top real estate firm

The undated file photo shows the private integrated township developed by Pakistan’s largest real estate company, Bahria Town, in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Bahria Town/File)
Short Url

https://arab.news/gmwu9

Updated 07 August 2025
Follow

Pakistan’s anti-graft body auctions three properties owned by top real estate firm

  • Three out of six properties linked to Bahria Town, Malik Riaz Hussain, remained unsold due to lack of qualifying bids
  • Anti-graft body says auction was part of efforts to recover “defrauded funds” from a court-approved plea bargain
Updated 07 August 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national anti-graft body said it auctioned three properties owned by top real estate firm Bahria Town and its founder Malik Riaz Hussain on Thursday, saying the move was part of its efforts to recover “defrauded funds” from a court-approved plea bargain. 

The auction was held a day after the Islamabad High Court dismissed a petition by the firm against the planned auction of its properties by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The six properties up for auction include one in Islamabad and five in Rawalpindi.

NAB said the sale aims to recover unpaid amounts from a settlement deal linked to the £190 million case involving Hussain, the founder of Bahria Town. Hussain has spoken publicly for months about being pressured due to “political motives” and facing financial losses as NAB opens cases against his property development projects across Pakistan.

Farooq H. Naik, Bahria Town’s counsel, told Arab News on Wednesday the firm plans to challenge the high court’s decision in the Supreme Court. 

“NAB Islamabad/Rawalpindi today conducted a public action of six commercial properties linked to Malik Riaz/Bahria Town, in efforts to recover defrauded funds from a court-approved plea bargain of 2019,” NAB said in a press release. 

The anti-graft body said three out of the six properties remained unsold due to a lack of qualifying bids, adding that a re-auction for them will be announced “soon.”

Listing the details of the properties that were auctioned, NAB said Rubaish Marquee in Islamabad was successfully auctioned for Rs508 million [$1.78 million], which it said was Rs20 million [$70,000] higher than the reserved price.

It said the payment and transfer process for the property is underway.

Meanwhile, Bahria Town’s Corporate Office-I received conditional offers of Rs876 million [$3.07 million], disclosing that its final approval is pending from NAB’s competent authority.

The third property, named Corporate Office-II, received conditional offers of Rs881.5 million [$3.09 million]. The anti-graft body said its final approval is pending from NAB. 

“NAB remains committed to transparent recovery of public funds and strict enforcement of accountability laws,” it added. 

AL-QADIR TRUST

Pakistan’s government has launched a high-profile crackdown against Hussain in recent months. On Wednesday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had uncovered evidence of Hussain’s and

Bahria Town’s involvement in money laundering of billions of rupees. 

Hussain and Bahria Town have so far not responded to the allegations. 

While Hussain has not explicitly named who was pressuring him or why, media and analysts widely speculate the crackdown relates to the Al-Qadir Trust case, which involves accusations former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, during his premiership from 2018-2022, were given land by Hussain as a bribe in exchange for illegal favors.

In January, a court sentenced Khan to 14 years imprisonment in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

In 2019, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said Hussain had agreed to hand over £190 million held in Britain to settle a UK investigation into whether the money was from the proceeds of crime.

The agency said the assets would be passed to the government of Pakistan and the settlement with Hussain was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt.”

The case made against Hussain and ex-PM Khan was that instead of putting the tycoon’s settlement money in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government used the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.

Hussain, who hasn’t appeared before an anti-graft agency to submit his reply to the summons issued to him, has denied any wrongdoing. Khan and his wife have also pleaded innocence.

The latest development marks another escalation in the legal troubles facing Hussain, widely regarded for years as Pakistan’s most influential businessman, known for close ties with political, media and military elites.

On Tuesday, Hussain said in a statement on social media platform X his property empire was on the brink of collapse due to what he termed a politically motivated crackdown. He claimed Bahria Town’s bank accounts had been frozen, vehicles seized and dozens of employees arrested, forcing a near shutdown of operations.

Earlier this year in January, NAB put out a public notice cautioning people against investing in Hussain’s new real estate venture to build luxury apartments in Dubai.

Topics: bahria town Malik Riaz Hussain

Islamabad dismisses claims about paying up to 8 percent interest on foreign loans as ‘misleading’

Updated 22 February 2026
Follow

Islamabad dismisses claims about paying up to 8 percent interest on foreign loans as ‘misleading’

  • Pakistan has long relied on external loans to help bridge persistent gaps in public finances and foreign exchange reserves
  • Pakistan’s total external debt, liabilities stand at $138 billion at an overall average cost of around 4 percent, ministry says
Updated 22 February 2026
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance ministry on Sunday dismissed as “misleading” claims that the country is paying up to 8 percent interest on external loans, saying the overall average cost of external public debt is approximately 4 percent.

Pakistan has long relied on external loans to help bridge persistent gaps in public finances and foreign exchange reserves, driven largely by a narrow tax base, chronic trade deficits, rising debt-servicing costs and repeated balance-of-payments pressures.

Over the decades, successive governments have turned to multilateral and bilateral lenders, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to support budgetary needs and shore up foreign exchange reserves.

The finance ministry on Sunday issued a clarification in response to a “recent press commentary” regarding the country’s external debt position and associated interest payments, and said the figures required contextual explanation to ensure accurate understanding of Pakistan’s external debt profile.

“Pakistan’s total external debt and liabilities currently stand at $138 billion. This figure, however, encompasses a broad range of obligations, including public and publicly guaranteed debt, debt of Public Sector Enterprises (both guaranteed and non-guaranteed), bank borrowings, private-sector external debt, and intercompany liabilities to direct investors. It is therefore important to distinguish this aggregate figure from External Public (Government) Debt, which amounts to approximately $92 billion,” it said.

“Of the total External Public Debt, nearly 75 percent comprises concessional and long-term financing obtained from multilateral institutions (excluding the IMF) and bilateral development partners. Only about 7 percent of this debt consists of commercial loans, while another 7 percent relates to long-term Eurobonds. In light of this composition, the claim that Pakistan is paying interest on external loans ‘up to 8 percent’ is misleading.

The overall average cost of External Public Debt is approximately 4 percent, reflecting the predominantly concessional nature of the borrowing portfolio.”

With respect to interest payments, public external debt interest outflows increased from $1.99 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 to $3.59 billion in FY2025, representing an increase of 80.4 percent, not 84 percent as reported. In absolute terms, interest payments rose by $1.60 billion over this period, not $1.67 billion, it said.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s records, Pakistan’s total debt servicing payments to specific creditors during the period under reference were as follows: the IMF received $1.50 billion, of which $580 million constituted interest; Naya Pakistan Certificates payments totaled $1.56 billion, including $94 million in interest; the Asian Development Bank received $1.54 billion, including $615 million in interest; the World Bank received $1.25 billion, including $419 million in interest; and external commercial loans amounted to nearly $3 billion, of which $327 million represented interest payments.

“While interest payments have increased in absolute terms, this rise cannot be attributed solely to an expansion in the debt stock,” the ministry said. “Although the overall debt stock has increased slightly since FY2022, the additional inflows have primarily originated from concessional multilateral sources and the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) under the ongoing IMF-supported program.”

Pakistan secured a $7 billion IMF bailout in Sept. 2024 as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to stabilize the South Asian economy that narrowly averted a default in 2023. The government has since been making efforts to boost trade and bring in foreign investment to consolidate recovery.

“It is also important to note that the increase in interest payments reflects prevailing global interest rate dynamics. In response to the inflation surge of 2021–22, the US Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate from 0.75-1.00 percent in May 2022 to 5.25–5.50 percent by July 2023. Although rates have since moderated to around 3.75 percent, they remain significantly higher than 2022 levels,” the finance ministry said.

“The government remains committed to prudent debt management, transparency, and the continued strengthening of Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability,” it added.

Topics: loans interest

Latest updates

Seven irregular migrants found dead on Libyan beach
The body of an illegal immigrant lies on the beach after a boat sank, in Qasr al-Akhyar, near Tripoli, Libya, February 21, 2026.
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
Putin says developing Russia’s nuclear forces ‘absolute priority’
Stuttgart rescues 3-3 draw as Bundesliga relegation scrap impacts Champions League race
Hungary says will block EU’s latest package of sanctions on Russia

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.