Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to suspend further action against Bahria Town till disposal of its pending review petition.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar held that the pending review plea of Bahria Town will be heard by a five-member larger bench of the apex court after the summer vacations.

The court directed Bahria Town’s Chairman Malik Riaz to deposit Rs 5 billion with the apex court. The court also restrained Malik Riaz from selling any of his or his children’s and wife’s properties.

Malik Riaz, in his written reply submitted on Wednesday, assured the court that he would submit an amount of Rs 5 billion as surety in 15 days and ensure that none of his or his family’s properties are sold till further orders by the apex court. The court ordered that the properties of Malik Riaz’s wife be attached as surety and barred him from selling any of his own assets. The court, however, allowed Bahria Town to receive money from investors in its new account until the review plea is disposed of.

The court directed that 20 per cent of the amount received by Bahria Town be deposited in a separate account opened at the apex court, whereas the remaining 80 per cent amount be spent on development of the project.

About the judges of the bench which had handed down the judgment against Bahria Town in May 2018, the chief justice stated that one judge had retired and the other wrote a dissenting note, thus the court would constitute a five-member larger bench for hearing the review petitions of Bahria Town.

Upon direction of the chief justice, Malik Riaz has also deposited an amount of Rs 5 million with the Fatimid Foundation.

The Bahria Town had filed a review petition against the apex court’s verdict which had barred Bahria Town Karachi from selling or allotting land after declaring that the land for the project was acquired illegally. The court had found massive irregularities in land acquisition by the Bahria Town for its housing projects in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Murree. On June 26, the court had barred Bahria Town from collecting any payments, saying that the administration of Bahria Town Karachi had violated court orders by opening a separate bank account.

During the hearing, the chief justice noted that Malik Riaz was so influential that Tuesday’s proceedings of the case against him were largely blacked out by the media. Malik Riaz, however, complained he was being presented as a ‘don’ by the media. The chief justice then asked him to refrain from influencing governments, adding that the days were over when he (Riaz) was considered to be a ‘kingmaker’.

Published in Daily Times, June 28^th 2018.