Is Bahria Town planning to shut down operations in Pakistan?

ISLAMABAD: The citizens of Pakistan, particularly the residents of Bahria Town, are concerned after property tycoon Malik Riaz on Tuesday announced that his gated community, Bahria Town, is on the verge of financial collapse, which has paralyzed the operation of the housing society.

His remarks came amid the raid from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in coordination with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), targeting Bahria Town’s concealed financial documents and payment files as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities.

As per the officials, key documents related to Bahria Town’s financial dealings were recovered from the premises of a private charitable hospital, where they had been deliberately hidden to obstruct investigations.

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also announced the auction of six Bahria Town properties in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on August 7.

The anti-graft watchdog said that the successful bidders would have to pay 5 per cent of the value of the properties on the auction day, 10 per cent in a month, and the remaining 85pc in three months.

As the crackdown intensifies against Bahria Town, its chairman shared a statement, saying that “the situation has reached a point where we are being forced to completely shut down all Bahria Town activities across Pakistan.”

We are certainly one step behind this last step, out the situation on the ground is getting worse by the minute, he added.

In a post on X, the Real estate giant said that the government agencies had been exerting unprecedented pressure, leading to the arrest of dozens of staff members, freezing of all the company’s bank accounts, the seizure of staff vehicles, and other stringent measures, which have severely paralyzed Bahria Town’s operations across the country.

“Our cash flow has been 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 wrote.

We are certainly one step behind this last step, but the situation on the ground is getting worse by the minute, he warned.

Riaz calls for a truce

Furthermore, the property tycoon Malik Riaz appealed for serious dialogue and a dignified solution.

“For this purpose, we assure you that we will participate in any arbitration and implement its decision 100 per cent. 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,” he wrote on X.

Riaz added 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”.

“We have the power to sacrifice our bodies and money for the people of Pakistan and the most powerful Institutions of the state with all our heart and soul,” he added.