Sindh High Court Orders Records of Land for Bahria Town Karachi-2 Project to be Presented

The Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad bench has ordered Bahria Town Karachi (BTK), the Board of Revenue (BoR), and the Sindh Forest & Wildlife Secretary to present records of the entire land in question for the BTK-2 project. The petitioner, Salahuddin, had claimed that the project, located on the Karachi-Hyderabad side of M-9, could compromise Pakistan’s defense as it was close to sensitive installations.

The petitioner requested the formation of a joint investigation team to investigate the ownership of the land, alleging that the project was being developed on public land and that the entries were bogus. BTK refuted these claims and argued that other housing projects were being developed adjacent to the BTK-2 project and that disputed questions of facts and factual controversies should not be resolved by the high court.

The court has directed the parties to submit the records of the entire land, including entries made in the record of rights in the names of original allottees. The petitioner had urged the court to form a JIT consisting of senior officers from FIA, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), ISI, MI, IB, member judicial and land utilization BoR Sindh, land Utilisation, the survey of Pakistan, land records officer, and other officers. The petitioner has also requested that FIA and NAB prosecute officials involved in issuing NOCs to the respondent party and making bogus entries in favor of BTK and private beneficiaries.

The case has garnered attention due to the high-profile nature of Bahria Town and the alleged violation of public land ownership. The outcome of the case will determine the future of the BTK-2 project and the ownership of the land in question.