National Accountability Bureau’s Karachi branch has managed to recover 80 acres of valuable government property in the city of Hyderabad, which was earlier misappropriated by Bahria Town in its Gulshan-i-Sarmast residential scheme in Deh Ganjo Takkar, amounting to Rs6 billion worth of property. This is among the most successful instances of physically seizing back government property undertaken by NAB Karachi in recent months. It comes at a time when efforts to legally challenge Bahria Town’s land grabbing activities have been increasing in Sindh.
The Illegal Bahria Town Land is based on the allotment, which did not meet several rules and regulations right from the beginning. Bahria Town has managed to get hold of the 80-acre land by way of allotment, which according to NAB, was an illegal act, as Bahria Town paid only Rs.383 million for a property currently valued at Rs.6 billion.
Failure of Bahria Town to pay and fulfill university project
Apart from being an issue with the legality of the allocation itself, Bahria Town’s problems were made worse when it defaulted on paying even the reduced sum which had been agreed upon. They could not pay their promised sum of Rs383 million, making their dues unpaid before NAB and HDK sought to terminate the project.
The non-payment would have been enough reason for canceling the allotment even on its own. However, there was another important factor in the land allotted for NAB Bahria Town, which was that the land had been allotted strictly for the purpose of developing a university project, something that the company did not accomplish. Bahria Town did not develop any educational institution at all, nor did they apply for any changes in their allotted conditions, thus making use of government-owned property in vain.
Cancellation of allotment, recovery of land and forfeiture of partial payment done by HDA
The NAB then referred the case of the double violation to the Hyderabad Development Authority. As a consequence, the HDA took steps to cancel the allotment in total, reclaiming the possession of the 80 acre piece of land and forfeited the Rs383 million paid in part by Bahria Town. This act of forfeiture has made sure that Bahria Town not only loses their land but also their money.
The choice by the HDA not to refund the partial payment but rather to forfeit it is in line with normal regulatory policy in such circumstances where an allottee fails to fulfill obligations both in terms of finance and development requirements. This makes a strong point for NAB in its larger case concerning land at NAB Bahria Town.
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Perpetual arrest warrants issued against Malik Riaz and others
The Hyderabad land recovery case is part of an escalation of legal measures taken regarding the larger case of the NAB Bahria Town land acquisition case. Perpetual arrest warrants were issued against Malik Riaz, the real estate businessman responsible for Bahria Town project, his son, and other associates involved in the land grabbing case. The issuance of perpetual arrest warrants, as compared to the normal bailable or non-bailable warrants, shows that the court believes the accused are in fact avoiding justice proceedings and allows law enforcement to arrest them anytime.
It is a clear indication that there is heightened legal action being taken against Malik Riaz on a personal level, shifting from property recovery to a criminal process aimed at those whom NAB considers guilty of involvement in the scam.
NAB filed wider reference in 2025 against PPP leadership and government officials
The confiscation of land in Hyderabad is part of a much bigger accountability action launched by NAB in early 2025, in which the anti-corruption watchdog filed a reference against Bahria Town owners, top leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party and other government officials. The reference alleged that the individuals were involved in the illegal conversion, swapping and transfer of government land to Bahria Town in various parts of Karachi.
The reference being filed along with the land recovery operation in Hyderabad on Monday and the issuance of the perpetual arrest warrants last week implies that NAB is simultaneously trying to take up the NAB Bahria Town land case via various channels at the same time. It is unclear how Bahria Town and the politicians involved will react to the multiple pressures being exerted upon them.
