CJP takes suo moto notice of use of name ‘Bhahria’ by Bahria Town

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has taken a suo moto notice of the use of name “Bahria” by Bahria Town for real state business.
Taking notice of the matter , the CJP has issued a notice to Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz and fixed the matter for hearing on August 2 at the Principal Seat Islamabad, said a press release on Saturday.

Relevant pieces published earlier:

i) Bahria Town has stopped by the CJP from issuing notices to allottees to deposit payments in its bank account. It is pertinent to mention here that last month, SC had ordered the additional registrar to open a special account in order to allow the allottees deposit the outstanding amounts. During the hearing, CJP told Malik Riaz that Charity work could not be done by bribing people. CJP said that the court could not allow Maliki Riaz to continue with illegal ventures.”You cannot Illegally occupy land and then do charity,” he added. According to details The Supreme Court bench, today barred Bahria Town Karachi from collecting any payment from allottees of plots. During the course of proceedings regarding a case pertaining to Bahria Town, the court observed that the society had violated its orders by opening up a separate bank account to collect the outstanding amount. Addressing Bahria Town chief Malik Riaz, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said, “Charity work cannot be done by bribing people. “How charity could be made by occupying others land illegally”, he asked. To this, Malik apprised the court that he had bribed the people. He was building Bahria Town Karachi so that Pakistan could grow from a third world country to a first world country, he added. When Malik said the society was doing religious as well as social works for the betterment of people, the CJP observed that how a religious obligation could be performed by illegal means as there was no space for such acts in Islam. The CJP then directed Malik Riaz to deposit Rs 5 billion in the account of the Supreme Court as the money would be returned to the nation. The bench also barred him from selling any of his assets till the decision of the case. He also got an undertaking from Malik Riaz for not initiating any new Bahria Town project till then and adjourned the case till June 27. (Published on 26th June 2018)

NAB reviews progress on Bahria Town probe, Director General, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Altaf Bawany chaired a board meeting to review progress on the investigation against Bahria Town, MDA officials, and other government functionaries. The meeting was held in compliance with the directions of Chairman NAB Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal to expedite cases taken up by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, said a statement issued by the NAB Karachi, here today. The investigation team apprised the board that the investigation against Bahria Town was already completed and case was made out on the basis of allegedly irrefutable evidence about taking illegal possession of thousands of acres of valuable government land situated on main Super Highway (M9) in violation of Colonisation of Government Land Act 1912, MDA Act 1993 and Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979. The board was also apprised that a concise statement was also submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan highlighting facts regarding violation of laws and rules. The review board appreciated the efforts of investigating team that concluded the case by engaging Survey of Pakistan, Ministry of Defence for the demarcation of the land under illegal possession. (Published on 30th May 2018)

The investigation team apprised the board that the investigation against Bahria Town was already completed and case was made out on the basis of allegedly irrefutable evidence about taking illegal possession of thousands of acres of valuable government land situated on main Super Highway (M9) in violation of Colonisation of Government Land Act 1912, MDA Act 1993 and Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979. The board was also apprised that a concise statement was also submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan highlighting facts regarding violation of laws and rules. The review board appreciated the efforts of investigating team that concluded the case by engaging Survey of Pakistan, Ministry of Defence for the demarcation of the land under illegal possession.

In line with the Apex court orders Chairman NAB Javed Iqbal has launched a formal probe and directed the relevant directors general to complete their investigations in three months apropos Bahria Town Karachi, Bahria Town Lahore and Bahria Town Rawalpindi. Readers may recall that on 4^th of May SCP had declared the procurement of land by Bahria Town for its housing projects in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Murree null and void.

A plaza collapsed here due to Bahria Town’s faulty water-supply line passing beneath it! According to the tenants, a plaza collapsed here due to Bahria Town’s faulty water-supply, a new building was being constructed adjacent to it. When the digging started for basement yesterday it was discovered that Bahria Town’s damaged pipeline was passing underneath his plot and that was leaking badly. When he told about the predicament to Bahria Town last night they simply opted not to respond. While the workers were working at the adjacent plot the constructed plaza – due to the leaking of water from Bahria’s pipeline – commenced vibrating.

When the entire occupants ran out of the building to save their lives the building collapsed. According to details following the collapse of the plaza the Bahria Security personnel reached the spot and attempted to take control of the place. This resulted into a scuffle with the owners of the Plaza. Later the Bahria Security personnel resorted to aerial firing due to which many residents received bullet wounds. Moreover, those filming the incident by means of mobiles were baton-charged and their mobiles were destroyed. The hooliganism of the Bahria Town Security personnel has now reached to the extent that they incarcerated the passers-by (including a number of students going to the academy for tuition) in the Bahria Town’s private lockups after heavy thrashing. The affectees have appealed the Government and CJP to contain this hooliganism by Bahria Town’s private guards and see that justice is done.

Supreme Court stops Bahria Town Karachi from sales of properties! Supreme Court stops Bahria Town Karachi from sales of properties, SC has barred the Bahria Town Karachi from selling of residential/commercial plots and buildings. Apex Court proclaiming the allotment and transfer of land illegal has ordered the probe into the illegal allotment of Malir Development Authority’s plots. According to details Malir Development Authority had sold/exchanged 11000 acres of land to Bahria Town. But it was not authorized to do so. The land was meant for development of Government Housing Schemes and not to be to be sold to some private developer Malir Development Authority not only sold the land at throwaway (2006) prices but in case of exchange of land gave the expensive pieces of terrain to Bahria Town against useless arid lands in far-flung areas. In order to provide benefit to one private developer, no bids were invited from other developers.

This insinuates that big amount of money must have changed hands. Following Apex Court’s decision, the land does not belong to Bahria Town anymore and is again the property of the Government. And all the land given by Bahria in exchange has again become Bahria’s property. The amount paid by Bahria to buy the land shall be paid back to Bahria by the Government. However, to protect the third-party interest Bahria Town has been given an option to procure the said 11,000 acres of land at the market rate and if it wants to exchange land then the land should be of equal value. Meanwhile, the allottees have been instructed not to pay the remaining amounts to Bahria Town and instead deposit the same in a special NAB account. The process will be monitored by an implementation bench constituted by the Supreme Court. It is pertinent to mention here that those found guilty of corruption during the NAB investigation would be put behind bars. Bahria Town had been paying a huge amount to Media in the form of advertisements.

Demonstration against Bahria Town’s illegal occupation of villages at Karachi Press Club! Indigenous Rights Alliance Karachi organized a protest demonstration against Bahria Town and illegal occupation of villages land around Gadaap, Malir, Dhabeji of rural Karachi at Karachi Press Club today. Residents of villages from Malir, Thatta and Karachi’s West and Korangi districts attended the protest. A large number of women also took part in the demo, which was also attended by representatives from civil society organizations, human rights activists, political workers and students organizations.

They were carrying placards, banners with slogans against dislocation of the local population as a result of various housing schemes around Karachi including Bahria Town, DHA City etc. The Coordinator of the alliance Gul Hassan Kalmati said the Malir Development Authority and Board of Revenue have provided only 9000 to 11,000 acres of land to Bahria Town but the management is developing over 45,000 acres of land. The company has demolished many historical places like Shah Latif Bhitai’s Takiya and historical graveyard like Makli. Malik Riaz in connivance with ruling PPP leadership is forcibly removing villagers. The other speakers demanded the government to stop the removal of local people. They pledged to continue their struggle for rights of local people.

Locals whose lands have been encroached upon via coercing to manifest against Bahria Town at Karachi Press Club! KARACHI: The locals whose ancestral expensive goths (44,000 acres of rural terrain) have been encroached upon by means of coercing have decided to manifest against Bahria Town before Press Club here tomorrow to get their lands back. This decision apropos demonstration at KPC has unnerved those investors whose billions of rupees are at stake.

It is pertinent to mention here that Bahria Town is a unique instance of property business in the world where all the dealings are carried out on parchi (non-legal documents) and not on allotments from any Government Organisation. Ironically the Government is neither taking any action against this parchi racket nor is owning it. Meanwhile, a large number of investors, seeing their billions going down the drain, have moved the Sindh High Court where innumerable cases are pending against this fraud involving billions of rupees and usurpation of lands by Bahria Town.

Supreme Court bans Bahria Town’s illegal construction: Public’s billions go down the drain! KARACHI: Supreme Court of Pakistan has imposed a ban on the illegal construction work that was being carried out on phase III and IV of the controversial Bahria Town here in the Port City. The public who had invested billions of rupees on the unlawful project is panicked to see their lifetime savings go down the drain. According to details the land on which Bahria Town was constructing Phase III and IV originally belongs to a Hindu citizen. Bahria Town encroached upon the said territory, reckoning that as Government land, and allotted the plots. But after hearing the case, Apex Court has passed judgment in favor of the said owner who belongs to the minority community. Subsequently, Supreme Court has ordered Bahria Town to vacate the terrain on which it was building its phase III and IV unlawfully.

Alarmed Bahria Town Management is now endeavoring to pull the wool over the Supreme Court eye by putting mud on the routes saying those were built a long time ago. According to sources the future of Bahria Town is at great risk on one end and on the other end, citizens who had handed over billions of rupees to Bahria Town are shocked foreseeing the looming debacle. The public’s sole hope for justice is from the courts. It is pertinent to mention here that hundreds of cases are pending against Bahria Town in courts and stay had also been ordered in many cases.

Yet Bahria Town’s relentless illicit expansion goes on unabated. Bahria Town has allegedly usurped 40,000 acres of land while originally it was only granted 1330 acres. Since reportedly the Police is also teaming-up with Bahria Town, Rangers have been instructed to implement the court’s orders. Due to the raids carried out by Rangers for a week now the work at Bahria Town’s Phase II, III and IV have been stopped. As soon as the Bahria Town management sees Rangers approaching they put their laborers out of sight. Affectees have appealed the court to order the establishment of permanent posts around the Bahria Town manned by Rangers personnel.

Land Grabbing by Malik Riaz? ADSJ hearing a widow’s complaint orders lodging of FIR against Bahria CEO! Big Deal!! ISLAMABAD: Following instructions from Additional District & Sessions Judge, Bhara Kahu police has registered FIR (u/s 109, 341, 379, 427 and 447 of PPC) against the management of Bahria Town, its CEO Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz. According to details the accused, who have been booked on the complaint of the residents of Phulgran (including a widow), face charges of theft, wrongful restraint, mischief and criminal trespass. Sources privy to Newspakistan.tv have informed that the complainants claim that the accused have grabbed their inherited land and included that in his project. An advocate of Malik Riaz said that the matter regarding the ownership of the land was pending in a court. Bahria Town spokesman, who happens to be a retired army colonel, claimed that the area was purchased by Bahria Town and the complainants were trying to get more money by means of such litigation.

Sindh High Court orders Bahria Town to halt construction on 284 acres. KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered Bahria Town to halt all construction activities on 284 acres of disputed land. According to details during today’s hearing petitioner Wali Muhammad has maintained that Government of Sindh and MDA had illegally allotted 284 acres of land to Bahria Town. Applicants were allotted plots on a 99-year lease at Gadap’s Usman Allah Rakhio Goth. But Bahria Town using influence got the allottees ejected. SHC, appointing Nazir as commissioner, has asked for submission of a report in this respect within 15 days. It is pertinent to mention here that despite SHC’s stay construction is going on full swing on the disputed land.