Bahria Town (Private) Limited has requested Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir to intervene against the ongoing auctioning of its assets in a formal appeal signed by Vice Chief Executive and Acting Chief Executive Commodore (r) Muhammad Ilyas.
In the appeal, a copy of which was shared on social media, Bahria Town management stated that the public auctions of its commercial buildings, infrastructure and land segments were occurring at values far lower than their actual market worth.
According to the document, an amount of approximately PKR 372 billion belonging to ordinary citizens, salaried individuals and overseas investors remains tied up in these projects.
The company argued that the rapid offloading of these assets damaged the broader investment climate of the country.
“This matter is no longer confined to one institution; it has become a matter concerning the confidence, investments, homes, livelihoods, businesses and future of millions of Pakistani citizens,” the letter stated.
The administration specifically highlighted discrepancies between the assessed values and final auction prices of several properties. The Rubaish Marquee, which had a recorded evaluation of PKR 1,354,770,450 had its reserve price set at PKR 488,349,000 before being sold for PKR 508,000,000. Corporate Office-I and Corporate Office-II were also subjected to similar proceedings.
Furthermore, the company pointed out that its land in the Mohra Noor administrative district of Islamabad holds a market value of around PKR 200 billion, but was sold far below its worth.
“Bahria Town does not ask to be placed above the law. Bahria Town does not ask that any lawful proceeding be stopped. The only humble request is that the principles of justice, transparency and equal treatment should not be violated,” the letter stated.
The developer questioned the transparency of these sales, stating that the processes are being completed without full public documentation.
“If these are truly transparent auctions, why is the complete record of the proceedings not placed before the public? Has anyone actually witnessed an open auction of Bahria Town’s assets worth billions of rupees?” the letter questioned.
The company requested an immediate freeze on all active and future auctions of its disputed holdings while the cases are pending adjudication before the Supreme Court (SC) and other judicial forums.
The management also expressed readiness to resolve the outstanding issues through dialogue or independent international arbitration, referencing a past 2018 process under the Joint Venture Resolution Committee (JVRC) that was never fully executed.
“If any lawful liability or default is determined against Bahria Town, it is ready to pay the same in accordance with law,” the management said, warning that the current liquidations cause permanent financial harm to regular buyers and allottees.
It may be noted that the anti-graft crackdown on Bahria Town stems from investigations by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding the £190 million settlement case and the default on a 2019 plea bargain by individual shareholders.
Following the non-appearance of Malik Riaz Hussain and his family members, accountability courts declared them proclaimed offenders and ordered the attachment and public sale of assets under Sections 87 and 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Bahria Town challenged the liquidations in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), arguing that a corporate entity should not face asset seizures for the actions of individual investors, but the court dismissed the petitions, which allowed the public auctions to proceed while the matter escalated to the apex court.
