Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz Hussain is a Pakistani businessman, philanthropist and real estate tycoon who is the founder and chairman of Bahria Town and Defence Housing Authority, two of the largest privately owned real estate development companies in Asia.
Riaz leads a vast real estate empire, developing large-scale, master-planned gated communities such as Bahria Town Karachi, Bahria Town Lahore, and Bahria Town Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
He has also financed the construction of some of Pakistan's largest mosques including the Grand Jamia Mosque in Lahore, the Lal Masjid in Islamabad and the Grand Jamia Mosque in Karachi, which is projected to become the world's third-largest mosque upon completion.
Early life
Malik Riaz was born to a private contractor who was fairly wealthy. However, his father's business failed, forcing Riaz to drop out of high school after completing his matriculation. He went on to work as a clerk with the Military Engineering Service and often worked part-time as a painter. He later moved to become a contractor in the military.In 1995, Riaz established his own construction company under the name Hussain Global. Within the same year, his company signed an agreement with Pakistan's Navy charitable trust in order to build a gated community for the Pakistan Navy.
In 2000, the Pakistan Navy ended its business arrangement with Malik Riaz. After this, he established his own real estate development company which, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, allowing his company to continue using it.
Business
Riaz started his career as a clerk with a construction company(MES) in Rawalpindi. In the 1980s, Riaz moved to become a contractor, and in 1995 Riaz's construction company Hussain Global, signed an agreement with Pakistan Navy's charitable trust known as Bahria Foundation to develop a gated community for Pakistan Navy.After Malik Riaz`s contract with the military ended, the Navy's Bahria Foundation issued a legal notice to Riaz to stop using such words as Bahria/Maritime/Navy for his company's construction projects. However, in 2001, the Supreme Court ruled in Riaz’s favor and allowed him to continue using the word “Bahria”.
Malik Riaz has expanded his business empire under the brand name of Bahria Town Group.
Riaz is considered as a liberal in his business practices. According to Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa "to think that he is defined by religiosity and traditionalism, however, would be a mistake. His employees' profiles show that he hires a lot of women, especially at the middle and senior management levels, because he finds them "hard-working, efficient, and diligent".
Controversies
In 2012 Malik Riaz Hussain provided evidence in court proceedings against Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, son of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. In his affidavit, Riaz said he had been "blackmailed" by the Chief Justice's son for cash and other gifts, and that warnings to the Chief Justice about his son’s activities had gone unheeded for months. Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry subsequently resigned from his post as Vice Chairman of Balochistan Board of Investment.Malik Riaz Hussain, the Chairman of Bahria Town Pvt. Ltd., has been at the center of some controversies and allegations. The allegations are mostly that he pays to get things done his way. An expert from pakistanherald.com states that "National Accountability Bureau is currently looking into another application filed by a former military officer Lt-Col Tariq Kamal Khan, which states that the land on which Bahria town is constructed, and is further expanding, was not acquired through legal means. It is alleged that Hussain has strong ties with Pakistan’s military which assisted him in building a huge empire. Some claims go as far as saying that a handful of the important serving army officers, bureaucrats and lawyers are practically on Hussain’s payroll."
In October 2019, the parents of Amanda Halse, one of the 20 victims of the Schoharie limousine crash in the U.S. state of New York a year earlier, named Riaz as a defendant in a wrongful death suit they filed over the accident, since they allege that he had helped finance the businesses of two distant relatives who were principals in the company that owned and operated the limousine.