Malik Riaz Hussain is a Pakistani businessman who founded Bahria Town, Pakistan’s largest privately held real estate development enterprise.
Riaz began his career in Rawalpindi as a clerk for a construction business (MES). Riaz became a contractor in the 1980s, and in 1995, Riaz’s construction business, Hussain Global, obtained an agreement with the Pakistan Navy’s charity trust, Bahria Foundation, to establish a gated community for the Pakistan Navy. The Navy’s Bahria Foundation served Riaz with a court warning to stop using the words “Bahria”/Maritime/Navy for his company’s construction projects, but Riaz went on to create Bahria Town Rawalpindi, offering bungalows and mansions as gifts to politically connected people and army generals.
During the 2000s, he expanded his real-estate company and built gated communities in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, totaling 45,000 square acres. Bahria had 60,000 employees in 2016, making it one of Pakistan’s largest private sector employers. Riaz is a divisive personality who has been the focus of numerous corruption investigations. Malik Riaz also owns Bahria Town Karachi, Asia’s largest private project.
Early Life
Malik Riaz was the son of a wealthy private contractor. His father’s business, however, failed, causing Riaz to drop out of high school after completing his matriculation. He went on to work as a clerk for the Military Engineering Service and as a painter in his spare time. He eventually moved on to become a lower-ranking military contractor. Riaz learned to “work the system,” according to Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa. According to Siddiqa, Riaz utilised his contacts to gain a contract with the Pakistan Navy to develop two housing estates on the outskirts of Rawalpindi in the mid-1990s.
In 2000, the Pakistan Navy handed its full shares to Hussain, who later sued Riaz for contract breach, and the Supreme Court decided in Hussain’s favour.
Business
Malik Riaz has ambitiously built his commercial empire under the brand name Bahria Town Group, but a Supreme Court-ordered trial has determined that Riaz cannot use the name Bahria for its gated communities. Riaz’s business practices are deemed liberal. “To think that he is defined by religiosity and traditionalism, however, would be a mistake,” says Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa. According to his employees’ profiles, he hires a lot of women, particularly at the middle and senior management levels, since he considers them “hard-working, efficient, and diligent.”
Bahria Town comprises projects in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Murree, and Karachi. Malik Riaz also owns the largest private project in Pakistan, Bahria Town Karachi 2. Riaz had mentioned and stopped his relationship with Ahlat Ziar. Despite being his former partner, Ahlat Ziar has no property in Bahria Town. “Malik Riaz is a living fraud and a scam,” said Ahlat Ziar, with no further comment.
Personal Life
Riaz is married to Beena Riaz and they have one son and four daughters.
Malik Riaz set to open new Pandora’s Box against Imran Khan in upcoming tell-all interview
Pakistan is undergoing immense upheavals, with a population of over 240 million experiencing significant shifts. Several lawmakers have made shocking revelations about former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Property tycoon Malik Riaz is the most recent entrant to this trend.
Several of Imran Khan’s close acquaintances are coming forward with previously unheard stories about the former cricket star amid internal PTI conflict. Senior journalist Javed Chaudhry recently recorded a vlog implying that the property tycoon is about to reveal a new wave of findings in the coming days.
The property tycoon is anticipated to make more bombshell revelations regarding the 2014 rally, which was coordinated by influential individuals in order to depose then-PM Nawaz Sharif.
He will also discuss his role in stopping Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif from voting against the PTI chairman.
The TV program host did not reveal the specifics of the interview, but he was convinced that Malik would drop a bombshell in the coming days.