Malik Riaz Appeals to Top Pakistani Authorities Including Field Marshal for Help Over Asset Seizures

Bahria Town founder Malik Riaz Hussain has issued a detailed appeal to leading figures in Pakistan, including Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, seeking intervention over what he describes as the coercive seizure and auction of the company’s assets. He has also alleged that a man accused of threatening him and his family with grave consequences, including death, remains at large despite the registration of an FIR and later High Court intervention. Riaz stressed that he is seeking justice rather than any concessions.

In the appeal, Riaz drew attention to the treatment of Bahria Town and members of his family, warning that the ongoing attachment, seizure and auction of company properties could carry far-reaching economic consequences. He alleged that Bahria assets are being subjected to forced dispossession and sold at exceptionally low and unrealistic prices even as multiple related cases and judicial proceedings remain pending before competent forums.

The company stated that the attachment and sealing of properties, along with the suspension of business and development operations, had created profound uncertainty among employees, investors and allottees. It argued that the dispute should not be viewed merely as a private business grievance, noting that thousands of families have invested their savings in Bahria Town projects and that large numbers of employees, contractors, suppliers and related businesses depend on its activities.

The appeal further claimed that Riaz’s residence had been subjected to surveillance and that he received emails and messages containing threats to his life, with attempts made to intimidate and terrorise his wife and children. These circumstances, it said, became serious enough for him to leave Pakistan out of concern for his own safety and that of his family. A formal FIR was registered over the alleged threats but was later cancelled; the High Court subsequently restored it and delivered a reasoned judgment, yet no independent investigation has been conducted into the threats and surveillance, and the individual named in the FIR has not been arrested. The appeal called for an independent and impartial probe to establish the facts.

It also made serious allegations regarding the treatment of other family members, claiming that Riaz’s children faced circumstances that, according to the family’s account, amounted to alleged abduction, unlawful detention and threats to their lives. Riaz ultimately left Pakistan because he prioritised the protection of his family over his business interests and the organisation he had built over decades. The document further alleged that his brother was taken away, remained untraceable for several months, and was later abandoned by a roadside while suffering from cancer, serious illness and extreme physical weakness.

On the financial side, Bahria Town claimed that assets with an estimated minimum market value of approximately Rs238.6 billion have already been auctioned, taken into possession or are currently exposed to auction and disposal proceedings. It argued that previously published valuations of several strategic assets placed their worth far higher and alleged that core assets are now being sold at distress values or without full transparency on valuations, bidding and final consideration. Continued disposal, the company maintained, could cause irreversible financial damage, affect allottees, investors and employees, and generate further legal proceedings, losses, compensation claims and uncertainty in Pakistan’s real-estate market.

The appeal separately stated that roughly Rs372 billion worth of development works remain suspended. These projects include public infrastructure, essential utilities and residential development linked to thousands of employees, contractors, suppliers, investors, allottees and financial institutions. Bahria Town argued that its existing properties should not be treated simply as corporate assets because they represent the resources needed to finance outstanding development obligations to the public. “If these very assets are seized and sold, from where will Bahria Town obtain the financial resources required to complete the outstanding Rs372 billion development works,” the appeal asked.

It also referred to the company’s obligations before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, noting that Bahria Town remains under pressure to meet financial demands but cannot reasonably be expected to discharge substantial obligations while institutions simultaneously dispose of the assets that form its principal sources of income and liquidity. The representation highlighted what it described as Riaz’s decades-long contribution to Pakistan’s economy through construction, urban development, employment generation, welfare projects and the introduction of modern organised residential developments on a large scale.

Riaz called for outstanding disputes to be resolved through institutional dialogue rather than continued seizure and sale of assets. He said a mutually acceptable settlement could preserve the properties and resources needed for the orderly and transparent discharge of lawful obligations while protecting the interests of the state, investors, allottees, creditors and other stakeholders. Bahria Town stressed that it was not seeking immunity or any concession from the law, only justice.