Bahria Town Karachi’s Illegal Land Transfer: A Multimillion-Dollar Scandal Unfolds
In a major development, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a reference in an accountability court regarding the illegal transfer of land to Bahria Town Karachi, implicating several high-profile individuals, including real estate mogul Malik Riaz Hussain and his family members. Other key figures named in the case include former Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, and senior bureaucrats who were allegedly complicit in the land transfer scheme.
According to NAB, the land in question was unlawfully transferred from government-controlled areas in Malir District to Bahria Town. This vast land was reportedly used for the development of the housing society, with fraudulent documentation and approvals obtained for the project’s promotion and registration.
The illegal transfer of over 16,000 acres of land, primarily in Malir, resulted in a significant loss to the national treasury. The Supreme Court of Pakistan intervened in 2012, ruling that Bahria Town had gained unlawful benefits with the help of government machinery. By 2016, the Court had issued a direct order to halt further encroachments and ordered the company to cease its expansion.
Further investigations revealed that Bahria Town had expanded beyond its allotted land, acquiring an additional 25,601 acres, which is far beyond the approved 12,156 acres. As a result, the Supreme Court ordered Bahria Town to pay 460 billion Pakistani rupees for the illegally acquired land, and failure to comply with this order would result in immediate legal actions.
In March 2019, the Court ruled that the company must pay the amount in installments. To date, Bahria Town has only paid a fraction of the required sum, approximately 24 billion rupees, leaving a massive outstanding balance.
NAB’s reference further claims that the involvement of government officials, including the former chief minister and various members of the Malir Development Authority (MDA), facilitated this illegal land grab, with the conspiracy causing a loss of over 700 billion rupees to the national exchequer.
The case has become one of the largest corruption scandals in Pakistan, with continued investigations aimed at holding all responsible parties accountable. The investigation also highlights how illegal land dealings, unethical practices, and administrative collusion severely impacted the country’s financial resources.
The Supreme Court has continued to monitor the case, issuing orders to further investigate the land encroachments and impose strict penalties if the remaining dues are not cleared by the developers.
