ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued a stay order halting the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) planned auction of Bahria Town’s properties. The auction was scheduled to be held the same day, i.e. June 12.

The order was passed by a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, in response to a petition filed by Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd.

The court also directed NAB and other relevant parties to submit their responses, and adjourned the hearing.

During the hearing, Bahria Town’s legal team argued that the real estate company is a private limited entity which is operating in the construction sector and it has no direct or indirect involvement in the high-profile £190 million NAB case.

The team asserted that Bahria Town is neither an accused, nor a party, nor an advertiser in the case under investigation.

Property developer’s legal team argues it is not an accused party to £190m corruption case

Despite this, the petition noted, NAB has proceeded to seize several Bahria Town properties, and it has announced plans to auction them, which the company said was an unlawful and unjustified move.

Taking note of the petitioner’s arguments, the court restrained NAB from taking any “illegal disciplinary action” against Bahria Town and stayed the auction process.

The court emphasised the need for due process and transparency in handling of assets not directly linked to any accused or charge.

The court’s stay order has brought temporary relief to Bahria Town, one of Pakistan’s largest real estate developers besides putting NAB’s asset recovery strategy under renewed judicial scrutiny.

Last month, NAB had announced the public auction of six properties of Bahria Town in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on June 12.

NAB listed six properties of the project owned by property tycoon Malik Riaz: five in Rawalpindi and one in Islamabad.

The properties were being auctioned to recover the defaulted amount of a plea bargain under Section 33E of the NAB Ordinance, 1999, it added.

Earlier this year, NAB had warned the public against investing in Bahria Town’s Dubai project and began extradition efforts for Malik Riaz and his son.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025