Rawalpindi: June 08

Owner of the Bahria Town Mr. Malik Riaz lured Lt. Gen (retired) Imtiaz Hussain into plunder that resulted in one of the biggest scam in the history of Pakistan in which hundreds of thousands of civilians and army men lost their lifetime savings, a former military officer said Friday.

Gen. Imtiaz who died recently in mysterious circumstances was the first to facilitate Malik Riaz to play with the DHAI.

Imtiaz also gave Malik Riaz benefits of billions of rupees while serving as chairman of Army Welfare Trust, said Colonel (retired) M. Tariq kamal in a statement issued here today.

He said that Malik Riaz soon emerged as one of the most influential businessperson whom consent was considered final for any transfer or posting in DHAI.

Resultantly, DHAI officials would dance on the tunes of the former property dealer turned tycoon who is known for getting things done swiftly.

Col. Tariq further said that Lt. Gen (retired) Imtiaz Hussain was under pressure for his past deeds that brought a bad name to an institution. However, his successors proved more loyal to Malik Riaz by  breaking all the past records of corruption.

The corruption in DHAI is matchless and all the corruption cases of the democratic setup are a fraction of what has happened in DHAI and AWT, said Tariq.

Those DHAI officials who are responsible for controversial agreements with Bahria Town and staining reputation of army should also be probed and brought to book.

They include Brig. Jawed Iqbal, Brig Jaweed Ashraf Bajwa, Brig. Mukhtar Ahmed Tariq, Col. Muhammad Farooq Pervez and civilian employee of DHA Kashif Sharif. 

Colonel (Retd) M Tariq Kamal, former Director Engineering DHAI also alleged that Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, Zahid Rafiq, owner of Habib Rafiq Limited are also among the plunderers.

He said that reasons for the unusual and continued favours are still not known but it merits an investigation to ascertain as to why DHAI bosses compromised its reputation to benefit a property tycoon widely known for land grabbing.

He said that Mr Riaz is not honouring agreements but DHAI would continue to silently enter in deals with him without the approval of competent authorities.

Col. Tariq who is a member of DHAI as well as an effectee said that according to Clause 23 of Gazette Notification Ordinance No LIII, 2009, all the serving or retired army officers serving in DHA would be considered public servants (civilians). However, the central and provincial governments,  FIA and police etc. would not take any concrete action against all those who violated all laws for personal welfare.

He said that national Accountability Bureau is hand in glove with all the white-collar criminals.

(This is a Press Release)