ISLAMABAD: Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz said on Sunday that he has been “under immense pressure” but will not allow anyone to use him as a pawn for political motives.
“For over a year now, I’ve been under immense pressure to compromise, but I’ll never allow anyone to use me as a pawn for political motives.”
He added that there has been a “recurring pattern of victimization” against him and his business for introducing state-of-the-art projects in Pakistan. “From 1996 till today, I’ve been punished for contributing towards the progress of the country,” said Riaz.
“With the help of Allah Almighty, I have faced such pressures in the past with absolute grit and strength. Even today, in a personal capacity, I can say with utmost certainty, ‘over my dead body’,” added the chairman of Bahria Town.
Riaz further said that he is “firm in the face of this adversity” while he endures daily business losses and is being “pushed to the wall daily”.
“Allah will guide and help me through this tough phase with dignity.”
On the hand, Former president and PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday reacted to property tycoon Malik Riaz’s claim of being “under immense pressure” for past one year to compromise.
Reacting to Riaz’s statement, the former president – in a statement on X – asserted that the pressure cooker will “burst one of these days”.
“And who will suffer the damage? Not those who have ensured escape routes to foreign countries, but us loyal Pakistanis who have decided to live and die in our country”, Arif Alvi said.
He further said: “We will salvage, make the country prosper with dignity in the comity of nations, even build upon the ashes of the loot [and] plunder going on now under this false, brutal, crooked and blatantly illegal regime”.
According to Arif Alvi, all this will be possible with “Allah’s grace, and under the visionary leadership of [Imran Khan]”.
In a statement on X, the property tycoon alleged that he was under immense pressure for the past one year to compromise, “but I’ll never allow anyone to use me as a pawn for political motives”.
“This has been a recurring pattern of victimisation against me and my business for introducing state-of-the-art projects in Pakistan”, he said, claiming that he has been punished contributing towards the progress of the country. –Agencies
