‘Despite travel ban, Khan granted Malik Riaz special permission to exit Pakistan 20 times’
Prominent journalist Fakhar Durrani has claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, as the country’s prime minister (PM), repeatedly helped Bahria Town owner and property tycoon Malik Riaz travel abroad despite being placed on the exit control list (ECL).
“Malik Riaz’s name was on the ECL on Supreme Court orders. […] however, from March 2019 to March 2022, Imran Khan facilitated Riaz by granting him special permission [to travel abroad] 20 times,” Durrani said in a video on his YouTube channel.
According to the journalist, Khan also made sure that the special permission for Riaz to travel abroad was renewed after each expiry, keeping his name off the no-fly list for three years.
In reference to Riaz’s latest troubles at the hands of the Pakistani government, Durrani said that the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government and establishment were determined to launch an inquiry against the property tycoon, noting that the government was actively working to get him extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It merits a mention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday issued a press release cautioning the public against investing in Bahria Town’s new real estate project in Dubai.
Following Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi’s conviction in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, the accountability watchdog said that Riaz was an absconder in the same and they had already frozen a number of his assets.
“Mr Malik Riaz is residing in Dubai, UAE. He has recently launched a project for the construction of luxury apartments in Dubai, UAE. The general public at large is hereby advised and warned to refrain from investing in the stated project. If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal/ legal proceedings,” the press release read.
The controversial property tycoon, in response to the NAB press release against his Dubai-based project, took to X on Wednesday, warning, “I am holding back, but there is a storm within me. If this dam breaks, then everyone’s façade will shatter. Don’t forget that the secrets of the past 25–30 years are preserved along with evidence.”
“My decision yesterday was the same as it is today: no matter how much oppression you inflict, I (Malik Riaz) will not testify.”
Jailed Khan was quick to react to the development. He asked Riaz on Friday to disclose the names of the politicians, judges and generals who had received benefits from him.
Imran Khan’s X (formerly Twitter) handle posted, “I ask Malik Riaz to disclose which judges, generals and politicians received bribes and other benefits from him over the last 30 years so that the nation knows who has been involved in dirty deals. The world should know how clean those who lecture about the bogus Al-Qadir (University) Trust case really are.”