The Bahria Town Karachi has occupied 3,031 acres of additional land than what was agreed with the Supreme Court.
This was revealed in a report submitted to the apex court by a 10-member survey team headed by the Karachi commissioner on the land occupied by Bahria Town, Karachi.
The Supreme Court resumed hearing of the case of non-payment of Rs460 billion from Bahria Town.
The report revealed that Bahria Town Karachi has occupied 3,031 acres of land, more than the amount agreed.
The report was submitted to the court in a case of recovery of Rs460 billion from Bahria Town, Karachi. The report revealed that the housing society possessed a piece of land beyond what was agreed in the contract.
According to the court decision, 16,896 acres of land was agreed for Bahria Town, Karachi. However, it currently possessed 19,931 acres, according to the report.
Bahria Town has occupied 3,031 acres more than the size agreed with the court. Out of this, 813 acres fell in Malir district and 2,222 acres in Jamshoro.
Also Read: SC seeks report on land occupied by Bahria Town Karachi
Bahria Town Karachi has also encroached upon land reserved for forests, the report claimed.
The report was prepared with the help of SUPARCO, the Survey of Pakistan and the forest department.
Later, during the proceedings, the lawyer told the court that on the instructions of Malik Riaz’s daughter-in-law, Mubashra Malik, the money was transferred to the Supreme Court registrar.
The CJP asked who would keep the money if the UK’s National Crimes Agency unfroze the account of Bahria Town.
Mashreq Bank lawyer Rashid Anwar said he was not an expert in British laws.
The documents submitted by Mashreq Bank were then made part of the case record. A British magistrate’s order for August 14, 2018 to de-freeze the account was also attached.
Mubashra Malik's letter to Mashreq Bank was also included in light of the court order.
On Wednesday, the Mashreq Bank submitted its reply to the Supreme Court in the Bahria Town payments case.
During the previous hearing, the court had raised questions over the 190 million pounds. It had also sought responses from those who made the payments on behalf of Bahria Town.
The British National Crime Agency's letter of 2019 was also submitted to the Supreme Court along with Mashreq Bank's reply. According to the letter, the account freezing order in the UK was cancelled, according to the document.
The NCA’s confirmation letter of the account freezing order from the district judge was also attached. In response, Mashreq Bank took the stance that after the account freezing was cancelled, the account holder sent the amount to Pakistan himself.
Mashreq Bank made the payments on behalf of Mubashra Ali Malik, and the money was transferred to Pakistan on the written instructions of the account holder, who was a family member of Malik Riaz.
On November 8, the Supreme Court had sought a report from the Sindh government on the total land occupied by Bahria Town in Karachi.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had heard the Bahria Town Karachi implementation case in the Supreme Court. Salman Aslam Butt, the lawyer for housing society owner Malik Riaz, appeared in court.
The court had also ordered the Sindh government and Malir Development Authority conduct a survey and also made the petitioner, Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, part of the survey team.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court had immediately summoned details of the money deposited with the court by Bahria Town and summoned the court’s accountant.
