Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
**Malik Riaz continues to hold sway over judicial system
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**** Leaders of lawyers’ movement helping Bahria Town chairman in land grabbing and extra-judicial activities
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- Police, revenue officials dancing to his tunes due to his influence on appointments
By Ikram Junaidi*
ISLAMABAD: **Malik Riaz of Bahria Town has become an unannounced don of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and now has been using famous lawyers who have been part of the “Restoration of Judiciary Movement” to buy justice for him.
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He is also influencing appointments of police and revenue officials to use them for his interests and deprive the ordinary persons of their properties in the twin cities, Daily Times learnt on Tuesday.
According to reliable sources, presently over 50 cases of Irfan Abbasi, Col (r) Khalid, Dr Shafique and other persons against Bahria Town are directly or indirectly are under proceeding in trial and apex courts, but Riaz hired some prominent lawyers who played important role in restoration of judiciary to influence the cases in trial courts.
They said cases of murder, land grabbing and other heinous crime were filed against Riaz in the courts. On October 27, 2009 a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Ghulam Rabbani ordered Sihala police to lodge an FIR and arrest Bahria Town chairman Malik Riaz Hussain. The court issued theses orders on a suo moto notice on reports of the murder of security guard Fiaz Ahmed, who was killed in 2008. In that case seven people were arrested, but all were released on bail. However, Malik Riaz could not be arrested. Some people present at the hearing told the Supreme Court (SC) that Riaz forced them to sell him their land. Those people also alleged that if they would refuse they would be harassed with help of local police.
They said the court directed Sihala police official to record the statement of Shamraiza Bibi, Ahmed’s widow, in the courtroom. In her statement she said Malik Riaz was responsible for the murder of her husband. During the course of hearing, two citizens - Raja Qayyum and Habibullah appeared before the bench and maintained that they were victimized by Malik Riaz, who had gotten them beaten through police as they were not selling their land to him. They alleged that SHO Idrees Rathore and DSP Malik Mumtaz kept them locked for three months, forcing them to sell their properties to the Bahria Town chairman.
A SC bench headed by CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ordered the district and sessions judge Islamabad in 2009 to launch a judicial inquiry against Riaz for his alleged land grabbing through coercive and blackmailing tactics and submit report to the apex court. The DCO Islamabad was directed to facilitate and cooperate with the district and sessions judge in this regard. Almost 100 persons gave their statements against Malik Riaz but so far police have failed to take action against him.
They said many people in the past tried to protect their properties from land mafia but mostly their struggle ended in their death and astonishingly families of the deceased were forced to have a patch-up with land mafia. This situation has developed a common perception that no one can stand against Riaz in federal capital and nearby areas.
Sources said in rural circles, especially in Sihala and Bhara Kahu, police station house officers (SHOs) can not be appointed without approval of Malik Riaz and deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) and superintendents of police (SPs) are appointed after consultation with him, as these officers can use their powers against him during inquiries about the land grabbing and other matters.
A police officer requesting not to be named told this scribe that recently when Haq Nawaz was Sihala police SHO, a person came to his office and used name of Riaz as reference. Nawaz was busy and failed to give him ‘due protocol’, said the police officer, adding, that person complained to Riaz who allegedly got the SHO transferred to Rescue 15 on July 2 and Arshad Ali was deputed as the new SHO.
Sources said the patwaris and other revenue officials who look after land matters are also appointed and transferred after approval of Riaz. They said in so many cases patwaris changed the record and illegally transferred land in name of Riaz depriving the ordinary people of their land.
They further said political personalities try to solve the problems of people of their constituencies, as they are answerable to them, but recently, when a well known political personality got changed two patwaris for complaints against them, Riaz allegedly took it seriously and a tug of war started between the two.
Sources said a number of persons have been murdered over land disputes but surprisingly in the end powerful land mafia succeeded in striking a patch-up.