NAB Auctions Three Bahria Town Properties for Rs2.27bn

News Desk 

Islamabad: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday sold one sealed Bahria Town property and received conditional bids for two others, fetching a combined Rs2.27 billion, while shelving the auction of three remaining properties due to a lack of qualifying offers.

The long-awaited auction, held behind closed doors at NAB’s Rawalpindi/Islamabad regional headquarters, barred mediapersons from witnessing proceedings despite prior invitations.

Journalists were later handed a brief written statement on the outcome, while dozens of vehicles, believed to belong to bidders, were seen outside the building.

According to NAB, Rubaish Marquee was sold for Rs508 million — Rs20m above its reserve price of Rs488m — while conditional bids of Rs876m and Rs881.5m were received for two corporate offices at their respective reserve prices.

A NAB source said the offers were conditional as bidders sought to change the use of the premises for other businesses.

The three unsold properties — Arena Cinema (reserve price Rs1.1bn), Bahria Town International Academy (Rs1.07bn), and Safari Club (Rs1.2bn), all in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi — will be auctioned later, with no date announced yet.

The properties were put on sale over default of a plea bargain amount in a reference against Zain Malik, son-in-law of Bahria Town founder Malik Riaz. Riaz, currently abroad, is reportedly avoiding arrest in multiple other cases, including the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case and the Bahria Town Karachi case.

The auction followed the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) dismissal of petitions challenging the sale, allowing NAB to proceed. Bahria Town has since approached the Supreme Court seeking to block the auctions.

Input from Dawn News Website.