ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to halt further action against Bahria Town till the apex court decides on an appeal filed by the top property developer in the land allotment case.
Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz, during Wednesday’s hearing, also assured the apex court of depositing Rs5 billion and desisting from selling any of his or his wife’s properties.
The apex court had earlier ordered the registrar of the Karachi registry to facilitate the deposit of outstanding dues in a special account to be opened for the purpose.
The top court had found irregularities in land acquisition by the construction giant for its housing projects in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Murree.
The court ordered the property of Riaz’s wife to be attached as surety and barred him from selling any of his own assets and further instructed the property tycoon to deposit 20 per cent of the amount in the SC’s official account.
Earlier, a three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, directed Riaz to submit an affidavit along with recommendations and to appear before the court.
Agencies add: The Supreme Court of Pakistan Wednesday ordered Bahria Town Chairperson Malik Riaz’s property to be confiscated.
The order came during the hearing of a review petition filed by the property giant against the apex court’s earlier verdict. In May, the SC issued a verdict barring Bahria Town from selling or allotting land in its Bahria Town Karachi housing project and declared the housing project’s exchange of land with the Malir Development Authority illegal.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar questioned how a city this large was built within a year. We all know about your dealings and your associates, he added.
A day before, on June 26, the court had ordered the property tycoon to deposit Rs5 billion as a guarantee within 15 days.