This is not the first time that Malik Riaz and people close to him have been accused of misdoings and abuse of power.
In December last year, the properties of Malik Riaz were investigated by National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK. Following the probe, the NCA had reached a settlement of 190-million-pound sterling with Malik Riaz’s family.
The settlement given by Malik Riaz to the NCA included a UK property, 1 Hyde Park Place, London, W2 2LH, valued at approximately £50 million and all of the funds in the frozen accounts. However, he faced no consequences back home and it appeared that the politicians who are otherwise vocal against corruption stopped short of taking the business tycoon to task over the proven financial fraud.
In 2018, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference against real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and booked him for a 100bn land scam, where he has built the Karachi’s Clifton area Bahria Icon Tower, known to be Pakistan’s tallest building.
In a ‘landmark’ verdict issued in May 2018, the Supreme Court had barred Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plot or apartment in the housing scheme spread across all country.
Five months later, while hearing petitions filed by Bahria Town against the May 5 judgement, former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar had asked Malik Riaz to pay at least one trillion rupees to compensate for the illegalities committed. The then chief justice stated that Pakistan needed Rs1.5 trillion for the construction of dams, and asked Riaz if he could build one to get rid of the legal proceedings.
In response, the business tycoon told the court that he had already deposited Rs7 billion, adding “I request the court to have mercy."
In April 2018, a startling report published in Dawn revealed that Bahria Town Karachi’s success is dependent on the ‘manipulation of the law’ by land officials.
With the help of influential figures in the establishment, the officials used ‘the state’s coercive powers to deprive rightful owners of their land’ and projected as ‘development’.
The report gave an insight into how Bahria Town does what it does.
In March 2016, several police mobiles surrounded Juma Morio goth, a small village in district Malir, about 13 kilometres north of the Super Highway and bulldozed a whole settlement down into rubble. The plan, backed by the police, was to demolish a number of small huts so that a road leading to Bahria Town could be built through the village.
No news channel picked up the story as ‘breaking news’. No clarification was given or sought. Malik Riaz and Bahria Town seemed to be above the law.
On 28th April 2017, two people reportedly died and many received severe injuries at Bahria Enclave, Karachi, when the seating stalls suddenly collapsed during an event organised by ARY Zindagi. Once again, media did not give coverage to the incident (deliberately of course), and no inquiry was done to find out the cause of the accident.
According to some eyewitnesses, the loss of lives was higher than what was vaguely reported by some media outlets. Some witnesses also accused the management of leaving the site as soon as the stalls collapsed and shutting down the lights as a cover up.
The darkness made it harder for the wounded to get help. Several people including women and children sustained severe injuries including fractures and spinal cord damages. Yet no questions were asked. No anchor felt the need to find out whether the incident was caused due to criminal negligence.
This shows how the media has been supporting Malik Riaz.
In 2012, a behind-the-scenes footage showing anchors Mubashir Luqman and Mehr Bokhari doing a ‘planted’ interview with Riaz surfaced on social media. Both anchors were seen telling Malik Riaz about the kind of questions they will be asking. The video further showed the anchors being instructed by the management against interrupting Riaz during the interview.
The clip also showed Malik Riaz receiving a call during the interview from then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son, Abdul Qadir Gilani, whom he called ‘bunny’.