How did Malik Riaz become an untouchable billionaire from teaboy?
Malik Riaz Hussain is the most influential individual in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s largest privately held real estate development enterprise, Bahria Town, was founded by him.
How did Malik Riaz become an untouchable billionaire?
Azaz Syed, a respected Pakistani journalist, has disclosed some hitherto unknown details concerning Malik Riaz.
So, who is Malik Riaz Hussain exactly?
The business tycoon once worked as a tea boy, according to Azaz Syed.
“This was back in the late 60s and early 70s. His date of birth in the official papers is February 1954. He belongs to Sambrial (a city in Sialkot). His father passed away during his childhood, and after the passing of his father, he worked as a tea boy to bear the expenses of his family,” revealed Azaz Syed.
The journalist added: “A man named Malik Yunus, resident of Jail Road, Lahore, belonged to a very influential family. He used to hold parties and horse races for the rich and influential people of the time. And Malik Riaz used to work there as a tea boy. The leader of the Pakistan People’s Party at the time, Malik Baraj Khalid, used to be a regular visitor of this place, as well as Seth Abid (who is a big name in the world of smuggling). These two were also very close friends.”
How Malik Riaz became a contractor:
“When his mother remarried, her second husband, Malik Riaz’s stepfather, his name was Malik Ashiq, and he used to be a contractor for MES and CDA. If you look closely, Malik Riaz inherited this career of contractors from his stepfather,” he said.
Malik Riaz initially worked on a few small projects as an independent contractor. Later, MES and the military gave him a contract.
Malik Riaz’s entry into the real estate business:
Malik Riaz focused his emphasis on the real estate industry at the beginning of the 1990s. He made the decision to create his own housing society at this time.
“He wanted to create such a company whose name would attract people to make purchases. Pakistani forces and their name attract the public a lot, and they feel that they associate credibility with them, which is why in 1996, Malik Riaz forwarded a request stating that he wished to start a company by the name of ‘Bahria Town.’.”
“Now obviously, it had the name of Pakistan Bahria (Navy) attached to it, and at that time Admiral Mansoor was leading Pakistan Bahria (Navy). This is the same Admiral Mansoor who was extradited from abroad and sent to Pakistan on corruption charges.”
“When Malik Riaz forwarded the request to use the name ‘Bahria Town’ for his newfound company, Admiral Mansoor did not have much objection over it. However, he still feared that somebody else might raise objections in the future. Then, Malik Meraj Khalid gave Malik Riaz the right to use Bahria Town’s name through an ordinance.”
“The People’s Party’s government had ended, and Malik Meraj Khalid was the prime minister at the time. As I have mentioned before, Malik Riaz was acquainted with Malik Meraj Khalid during the time that he worked at Malik Yunus’ house. Another interesting aspect is that Malik Riaz Hussain married into the same family he worked for at Jail Road. He had kids, but a few years later his wife passed away. Then in 1996, when he officially got the name of ‘Bahria Town,’ he started a project called Safari Villas for which he constructed beautiful houses that were sold overnight.”
Influence of Malik Riaz on Pakistani politics:
The business tycoon’s political clout in Pakistan is such that he influences who gets appointed to critical positions.
“We have proof to claim that at least two NAB chairmen have been appointed with Malik Riaz’s influence. The first one was Admiral Retd. Fasih Bokhari; Malik Riaz had a huge role to play in his appointment, and the second one was Justice Retd. Javed Iqbal, who is supposedly the caretaker of accountability for the whole country. His appointment also had great involvement from Malik Riaz.”
You can watch the video here:
