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ISLAMABAD: Why were three Bahria Town officials off-loaded from a Saudi Arabia-bound flight? This is the question the Islamabad High Court has placed before the government in a case that is expected to be taken up for hearing today (Thursday).
The question was posed in connection with three separate petitions, filed by retired brigadiers Tahir Butt and Zafar Iqbal Shah, and Manzoor Hussain Mughal before the IHC, with each being fixed for hearing before a separate bench. Butt is head of ‘Land Security’ for Bahria Town, Shah also looks after land-related matters, while Mughal holds the key position of chief surveyor for all real estate projects belonging to the controversial property developer, Malik Riaz.
Both Bahria Town and Malik Riaz have been in the headlines recently after the influential property tycoon made some uncharacteristic posts on social media, claiming that he was under pressure to take a political side.
This was followed on Tuesday by a raid on the real estate firm’s Rawalpindi offices — ostensibly carried out by the National Accountability Bureau and local law enforcement.
Observers say that this is happening in the backdrop of the £190 million corruption reference in the Al Qadir Trust case against former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, as Riaz and his family members are also among those who have been declared proclaimed offenders by the court for not appearing before it.
Malik Riaz is considered extremely well-connected with political circles and the country’s civil and military establishment, but his Bahria Town business is no stranger to legal troubles.
The real estate developer has been at the centre of multiple court cases, alleging the use of questionable and high-handed land acquisition tactics for its opulent real estate projects.
Placed on stoplist
In court, the three Bahria Town officials took the plea that they were disembarked by immigration staff from a flight to Saudi Arabia at Islamabad airport, while heading to perform Umrah.
Of the three cases, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb disposed of the petition before him, converting it into a representation and referring it to the Ministry of Interior for a speaking order.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir, however, had issued notices to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
In response, FIA submitted the ‘Stoplist Document’ of the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS), according to which the three men were placed on the Passport Control List on the recommendation of General Headquarters, Rawalpindi.
An FIA official maintained that the petitioners were placed on black list/passport control list on the recommendation of an intelligence agency.
The agency’s written statement explained that the “IBMS is integrated with the system of Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, Islamabad for purpose of transmission of real-time information”.
As soon as the name of any individual is placed or removed from the PCL, “the same is also transmitted to FIA IBMS in order to implement it (sic) by FIA immigration authorities.”
However, the court has asked the Ministry of Defence to explain why their names were placed on the stop list, and a response is expected to be furnished when the matter is taken up today.
Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2024
