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ISLAMABAD: Bahria Town on Wednesday challenged a short order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) which allowed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to proceed with the auction of properties linked to a plea bargain involving property tycoon Zain Malik.

Moved by senior counsel Farooq H. Naek on behalf of Bahria Town’s accounts and finance manager Adnan Khurshied Babar, the petition pleaded before the Supreme Court that NAB, by auctioning the properties, was acting in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner in violation of Articles 4, 10A, 23 and 24 of the Constitution.

It argued that NAB lacked the legal authority to unilaterally auction or dispose of mortgaged properties, owned by a third-party surety, without initiating separate proceedings or obtaining adjudication from a competent forum.

Bahria Town, it maintained, was not a party to the plea bargain.

Tarar claims FIA raids have yielded ‘incontrovertible proof’ of money laundering

The respondents named in the appeal include Islamabad’s accountability court, NAB chairman, Rawalpindi region director general of the bureau, and the official in charge of its recovery and disbursement management cell.

Zain Malik, son-in-law of Bahria Town chairman Malik Riaz who is facing three NAB references, had pledged Bahria Town properties as collateral under a plea bargain agreement signed under Section 25(b) of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

The agreement was approved by the accountability court in August 2020.

The attached properties include Media House Phase-I Rawalpindi, agricultural land at Mouza Mohra Noor, Bahria Town Corporate Offices I & II, Rubaish Marquee, Arena Cinema, Bahria Town International Academy, and Safari Club.

The petition argued that the IHC’s order dismissing Bahria Town’s plea was flawed, based on misreading of the record, and legally unsound.

It further stated that both the IHC and the accountability court had acted beyond their jurisdictions, thus violating Section 88 of the CrPC, which did not permit attachment of properties owned by third parties not accused or proclaimed offenders.

‘Evidence unearthed’

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed the government had found evidence that the controversial tycoon and his real estate empire had engaged in money laundering on a “grand” scale.

He said an FIA inquiry had yielded very important documents which were “incontrovertible proof of Malik Riaz and Bahria Town’s corruption”.

He claimed that evidence unearthed so far revealed money laundering to the tune of Rs1.12 billion, alleging that the Safari Hospital in Rawalpindi was used as a front.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Repeated incidents of rainwater accumulation and flood-like situations in various parts of Islamabad prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to take “serious notice” and order immediate rescue operations.

Torrential rain caused a flood-like situation in the Chattha Bakhtawar area, where rainwater entered several houses. However, no loss of life was reported.

Meanwhile, due to water accumulation, a portion of one lane of Murree Road, along with the Bhara Kahu bypass, became nearly impassable for traffic. Motorists heading towards Murree were forced to use the second lane.

During a site visit, it was observed that the area where the bypass ends towards Murree had one lane of the old Murree Road completely choked due to rainwater.

Recurring urban floods in Islamabad draw Shehbaz’s attention

“We have been facing a flood-like situation during every rainfall on this part of the road. The authorities concerned should take notice and resolve the issue,” said Malik Israr, a resident of Bhara Kahu.

In the downstream area of Rawal Dam, specifically in Chattha Bakhtawar, rainwater entered multiple homes across several streets.

Water entered streets 4, 5, 6, 7 and lane number 12, affecting over 50 houses. The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) rescue team, led by Dr Abdur Rehman and Director Zafar Iqbal, supervised the rescue operation.

Sources said more than 30 rescue officials took part in the operation.

Downstream of Rawal Dam lies a large nullah known as Gumrah Kas, where illegal construction has allegedly taken place within the right of way.

“There is a need for proper demarcation of Nullah Korang in the upstream and downstream areas, including Gumrah Kas,” said an official source.

He added that the involvement of revenue officials in encroachments along the nullahs’ right of way could not be ruled out.

Therefore, proper demarcation should be conducted by independent officials using modern technology, including satellite imagery. “Google images should be used,” he said, suggesting that the federal government should review all land demarcations carried out by the ICT revenue staff and CDA over the past 10 years.

It is relevant to note that rainwater has become a persistent issue for city authorities. The first monsoon rain caused the Serena underpass to choke, making the road impassable for half an hour.

Rainwater later accumulated in the Diplomatic Enclave, followed by damage to a road at the F-8 interchange. More recently, a flash flood swept away three cars and several motorbikes in the Saidpur area. In DHA-5, a father and daughter tragically lost their lives when the Sawan River swept away their car.

After the Saidpur incident, the CDA chairman chaired a meeting and directed a large-scale operation to remove all alleged encroachments from the nullahs’ right of way.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while taking notice of water accumulation in residential areas, directed the CDA and district administration to immediately launch rescue operations and ensure the swift drainage of rainwater from affected neighbourhoods near stormwater drains.

Expressing concern over the plight of residents in flood-prone zones, the prime minister instructed relevant authorities to implement precautionary measures to protect those living near streams and nullahs.

He also directed the health department to remain on high alert and take proactive steps to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases following the rainfall.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025

ISLAMABAD: While the schedule for the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) has been announced, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has decided to convince provincial universities to establish examination centres in the federal capital as well.

According to the schedule, available with Dawn, online registration of candidates will start from August 8 and will close on August 25, with a non-refundable fee of Rs9,000.

Registration with a late fee of Rs13,000 will begin from September 1. The test will be held on October 5 (Sunday) at 10am across the country.

For the international centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the regular and late fees will be Rs45,000 and Rs55,000, respectively.

It is worth mentioning that passing the MDCAT is mandatory for admission to medical and dental colleges in Pakistan. Each year, around 200,000 candidates appear in the test, but only about 10 per cent manage to secure admission to public and private sector colleges across the country.

Currently, four different universities conduct the MDCAT in the four provinces, while Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) conducts the test in the federal capital, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

In the past, students were allowed to appear in the MDCAT conducted by any university and then apply for admission in their respective provinces. However, this year, it has been decided that students must appear in the province where they hold domicile.

The decision has created difficulties for tens of thousands of candidates residing in Islamabad, including children of armed forces officials, who will now have to travel to their home provinces to sit for the MDCAT.

This will impose additional financial burdens, particularly on families from rural Sindh and Balochistan, who will have to travel to Karachi or Quetta and arrange accommodation.

Farooq Sheikh, a resident of Sindh, told Dawn that his daughter wished to appear in the MDCAT in Islamabad, as they have lived in the federal capital for decades.

“My father’s domicile was from Sindh, so I also obtained mine from the same province. My children were born in Islamabad, but their domicile is also from Sindh. They received their education in the federal capital, but under the PMDC decision, I now have to take my daughter to Karachi or Hyderabad to appear in the test,” he said.

Mutahir Shah, a resident of Balochistan, said the decision was even more distressing for those holding Balochistan domiciles.

“PMDC has put our children’s future at stake. Most people have stopped travelling to Balochistan due to security concerns, but PMDC is forcing us to take our children to Quetta,” he said.

“A number of parents may not be able to take leave, or may have other children taking exams in Islamabad at the same time. The federal government should intervene to ensure that candidates are allowed to appear in MDCAT in Islamabad. It seems PMDC makes decisions without considering their consequences or the difficulties faced by candidates,” Mr Shah added.

When contacted, a senior PMDC official said the council had discussed the issue with vice chancellors of the universities, but they were reluctant to allow candidates to appear in other provinces.

“Last year, 2,000 candidates from Balochistan appeared in the MDCAT conducted by SZABMU in Islamabad. Later, SZABMU’s result was stayed, which delayed admissions in the province. Similar delays occurred in Sindh and KP, as a number of students appeared in Islamabad,” the official said.

When asked how the PMDC could allow such hardship for students, the official said the council would suggest to universities in all four provinces that centres also be established in Islamabad, so candidates with provincial domiciles but residing in Islamabad could take the test there.

“I hope the vice chancellors will agree, as they only need to establish a few centres. PMDC will assist in arranging the facilities to conduct the MDCAT,” the official explained.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025

LAKKI MARWAT/SOUTH WAZIRISTAN/QUETTA: Eight security personnel and three civilians embraced martyrdom in different terror attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, officials said on Wednesday.

In Balochistan’s Mastung district, three security personnel, including a senior officer, were martyred and three others sustained injuries in an improvised explosive device attack in Kirdgab area of the district.

ISPR said the incident took place on Tuesday evening in the Killi Pasand Khan area when a convoy of security for­ces was targeted by terrorists linked to Fitna al Hindustan (the state’s term for banned BLA) with an IED.

“A vehicle was targeted with an IED, which was planted at the roadside and detonated with a remote control device,” a senior official of the local administration said. The injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta for treatment.

FC vehicle ambushed

In Karak district, a vehicle of the Federal Frontier Constabulary was ambu­shed by militants in Amankot in the jurisdiction of the Gurgari police station. Sources said terrorists from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had taken up position on a mountaintop and opened fire at the pick-up truck carrying FC men.

As a result, one Lance Naik, two sepoys and their civilian driver lost their lives. The slain troops were deployed at an oil and gas facility in the Gurgari area. The rescuers reached the spot soon after the attack and shifted the bodies to a hospital in Terri.

Separately, an off-duty soldier of the Frontier Corps was killed in a gun attack in the Railway Station area of the Lakki Marwat district. A police official identified the victim as a resident of Zangikhel, saying he had recently settled in the Railway Station locality. He said that the deceased had come to his hometown on leave.

The body was moved to the Government City Hospital for medico-legal formalities. “After the attack, the police started combing the area in search of the assailants,” the official said, adding that the slain FC man was laid to rest in a local graveyard with state honours.

Three killed in Peshawar

A police official and two civilians died when unidentified armed motorcyclists opened fire at them within the jurisdiction of Michni Gate police station on Tuesday night, police said.

A statement issued by the city police read that Inspector Ali Hussain, who was serving as the in-charge of the investigation cell at Mechni Gate police station, was travelling with his friends when their car came under attack.

SSP Operations Peshawar Masood Bangash said that four unknown persons, riding on two motorcycles, targeted the vehicle, adding that some 65 empty bullet shells were recovered from the spot. The motorcyclists went towards the Mathra area on the outskirts of the provincial capital following the attack, he added.

DC convoy attacked

In another incident, Deputy Commissioner Asmatullah Wazir and Additional Deputy Commissioner Zahid Younis survived an attack in the Habib Kot area of the Ladha tehsil, Upper South Waziristan. According to ADC Fazal Wadood, the assailants started indiscriminate firing at two vehicles in the official convoy, shattering their windows.

Two policemen sustained minor injuries from the broken glass and were shifted to a local hospital in Ladha.

Speaking to Dawn over the phone, DC Asmatullah Wazir said that he along with his colleagues had reached the Ladha headquarters safely. He added that the attackers managed to flee after the incident, while the police had collected evidence from the scene and launched an investigation.

Meanwhile, a soldier of the Pakistan Navy was injured in an attack near the Bachkan Ahmadzai area in Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday. Police said that the 22-year-old navy commando, was attacked by two motorcyclists when he was going to his village on a motorcycle. They said that the attackers fled the area after the incident within the limits of the Serai Gambila police station.

The victim told the police in a preliminary report that he was posted at PNS Iqbal in Karachi and had come to his village on leave over two weeks ago.

“On the day of the incident, I left Gambila Adda for Bachkan Ahmadzai and when I reached Kheera Adda near my village, two motorcyclists in masks appeared from behind and one of them tried to aim his pistol at me,” he claimed. He said that when he resisted, the armed suspect opened fire and injured him. A case was registered against the suspects.

Umer Farooq in Peshawar also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025

• Gohar claims seats ‘being snatched through courts’
• Law minister distances govt from convictions, asks PTI to take their objections to court
• Naveed Qamar takes exception to ‘frequent’ presidential ordinances

ISLAMABAD: The convictions and disqualification of the PTI leaders dominated the National Assembly session on Wednesday, as the opposition party protested the haste with which the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified its members, while the government distanced itself from the decision.

After their conviction by multiple anti-terrorism courts in Punjab in cases linked to the May 9 violence, over a dozen PTI national and provincial lawmakers have been de-seated in light of the court decisions.

Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, while speaking in the house, made it clear that convictions were the outcome of a lawful judicial process and asserted that the government played no role in the process.

The opposition members entered the house carrying portraits of lawmakers disqualified by the ECP and sought to speak over the issue. However, they left the hall after NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq denied them permission, saying points of order were not allowed during Question Hour.

After the opposition walked out of the house, the proceedings were suspended on account of the quorum.

After the session resumed, PTI interim chairman Gohar Ali Khan, while speaking in the house, decried the treatment meted out to the former ruling party in the lead-up to and after the 2024 polls.

He said the PTI’s seats were being “snatched” through courts and warned that such convictions and disqualifications threatened the democratic process.

He said this was the first time in history that key opposition leaders had been disqualified, adding that the ECP transgressed its authority by disqualifying PTI lawmakers before their convictions had attained finality.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan claimed the PTI also condemned the May 9 violence – in which military installations were also targeted — and asked how long this incident would be used to send lawmakers packing.

But Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar responded that it was the domain of the courts to pronounce verdicts. “This is a lawful process. Objections can be raised, but the forum to do so is also the court,” he remarked.

He cited the example of Jamshed Dasti who had been given interim relief by the Lahore High Court following his disqualification by the ECP. He said parliament was not the forum to decide the merits of ongoing prosecutions, adding that the constitutional framework required respect for judicial independence.

After proceedings were adjourned, the opposition members exited the house, raising slogans against the convictions and disqualifications. They also staged a protest outside the Parliament House building.

Tiff over ordinances

During Wednesday’s proceedings, two key lawmakers from the PPP and the PML-N — partners in the ruling coalition — got into an argument over the frequent promulgation of ordinances.

Before two recently promulgated ordinances were laid before the house for endorsement, PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar raised objections, saying the unnecessary promulgation of ordinances undermined parliament.

The objection came as a surprise to some, as his own party leader President Asif Ali Zardari is the one issuing the ordinances.

Mr Qamar noted that successive governments had been abusing and misusing the constitutional provision, which allowed the promulgation of ordinances in peculiar circumstances. “This whole process is anti-democratic and against the spirit of the Constitution,” he remarked.

Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, however, defended the ordinances, saying the process was in line with the Constitution and that no ordinance had unnecessarily been promulgated.

According to the minister, the heavens will not fall by the promulgation of ordinances. He said the house and the relevant committees could suggest amendments to the ordinances.

According to Article 89 of the Constitution, the president may, except when the Senate or the National Assembly is in session, if satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action, make and promulgate an ordinance, as the circumstances may require.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025