ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court judge on Friday questioned the haste shown by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in auctioning six Bahria Town properties when six references against Zain Malik were still pending adjudication before an accountability court, which would decide about confiscation of the properties if the accused was proved guilty.
“After instituting applications for the termination of the plea bargain (deal approved in August 2020) between Zain Malik and NAB, the references against the accused have been reverted to the preliminary stage,” observed Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, a member of the three-judge SC bench that had taken up the appeal against the Aug 4 short order of the Islamabad High Court.
As the IHC in its short order allowed NAB to go ahead with the auction of the six attached properties, the anti-graft watchdog sold one property and received conditional bids for two other properties, at a combined value of Rs2.27 billion.
However, the auction of three remaining properties was shelved for want of qualifying bids.
Three-member bench to hear Bahria Town appeal on regular basis from 13th
The SC decided that the appeals by Bahria Town would be fixed before any available three-judge bench of the apex court for regular hearing from Aug 13.
In its appeal, the Bahria Town contended that the IHC short order of dismissing its plea against the auction was bad in law and facts as it suffered from misreading and non-reading of the record and applicable legal provisions.
Both the Aug 4 order of the high court and the May 23 order of the accountability court were without lawful jurisdiction and in blatant violation of Section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which does not authorise attachment of properties belonging to third parties, the SC was apprised.
The appellant argued that the IHC and the accountability court also failed to distinguish between the assets of the accused and those owned by a separate and independent juristic entity.
Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2025