KARACHI: An accountability court issued perpetual arrest warrants against property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son and others in the Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) land grab case, it emerged on Thursday.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference in 2025 against the owners of Bahria Town, senior PPP leaders and government officials for allegedly converting, exchanging and transferring government land to Bahria Town for its BTK project.

The perpetual or lifetime non-bailable warrants were issued by Accountability Court Judge Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah for the arrest of Malik Riaz, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Zain Malik, former Board of Revenue official, Ahmed Baksh Narejo, former land utilisation secretary, and others.

The court declared them ‘proclaimed offenders’ and directed the investigating officer of the NAB to arrest them and produce before the court for further proceedings as well as to block their passports.

It is pertinent to mention here that an inquiry was initiated by NAB in 2015 after it received complaints regarding the alleged usurpation of government land by Bahria Town for its BTK project in Malir, near the M-9 Motorway. The inquiry was subsequently upgraded to an investigation in 2016.

In a reference filed in 2025, the anti-graft watchdog alleged that the entire hierarchy of the executive, the revenue board, the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and others conspired to cede valuable public property to Bahria Town. It named 33 individuals as the accused, including Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz, senior PPP and Sindh government figures, including Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon, and ex-CM Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and others.

It said the accused, acting in connivance, grabbed around 17,000 acres of public property for Bahria Town under the grab of adjustment / exchange / consolidation in 2013-14 in sheer violation of the law, causing a colossal loss of over Rs708.08 billion to the national exchequer.

The reference said CM Qaim Ali Shah connived with the co-accused by not approving the “summary for CM” dated Jan 12, 2016, forwarded by the prosecution witness / the-then member

Board of Revenue Sindh Mohammad Waseem for cancellation of earlier order issued on Dec 26, 2013, by Ahmed Baksh Narejo in violation of MDA Act, 1993.

On the contrary, CM Qaim Ali Shah with mala fide intentions directed the local government department secretary to issue a corrigendum on May 5, 2016. The CM neither had jurisdiction nor was competent to issue such corrigendum, it claimed.

It further alleged that Sharjeel Memon, was the MDA chairman and local government department minister at the time and he approved “regulation regarding consolidation / adjustment / exchange of private Kabuli survey lands & state land alleged by the board of revenue etc.” in violation of Section 49 of the MDA Act.

It claimed that in the first MDA meeting held on Jan 24, 2014, Memon also approved the adjustment of the government land to Bahria Town while he had also approved the preliminary concept plan of 32 dehs as well as a layout plan of Bahria Town Karachi in violation of law and regulations.

However, both PPP leaders had secured per-arrest bail from Sindh High Court in the case.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2026