Daily Times

The hashtag #SayNotoBahriaTown has been the top Twitter trend in Pakistan on Monday with over 36.6k tweets.

For the uninitiated, the hashtag #SayNotoBahriaTown is a movement to protest against Pakistan’s real estate tycoon Malik Riaz for allegedly being involved in land grabbing.

One of the users was quick to point out that Riaz’s net worth is more than country’s economy and this wealth cannot be acquired by legal means.

In addition to all the other illegal activities, such as land grabbing, Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) has cancelled hundreds of properties for which the buyers had already paid millions to notorious tycoon Malik Riaz.

Moreover, the owners whose properties have not been cancelled, were slapped with notices demanding 35% of the property value as development charges, which is in absolute violation of the terms and conditions of the sale purchase agreement.

According to a local media source, a senior citizen at BTK head office said she had paid all the installments along with possession charges and utility connection charges for her 200 square yards villa, and when she approached to take the keys of her property, she was given another demand note of Rs. 1.7 million. “How can I pay this money which they never mentioned had to be paid.”

Earlier this year, the National Accountability Bureau filed a reference against real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and many others for illegal allotment of an amenity plot in Karachi’s Clifton area where the Bahria Town built Pakistan’s tallest building, Bahria Icon Tower.

It is a pity that giants like Bahria Town can always get away with their commitments to deliver, while the general public loses their hard earned money. We have seen several examples of such malpractices in Bahria Town Rawalpindi, Bahria Town Lahore, and Bahria Enclave Islamabad, which suggest a pattern how this giant firm “Bahria Town” actually rips off the innocent home buyers by overselling their projects.