12 June 2012,
Bahria Town’s Malik Riaz Hussain has filed a statement in the Supreme Court today claiming that some Rs. 342.50 million was paid over three years to Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, the son of Pakistan’s chief justice, who was allegedly blackmailing him. 
These revelations, which had been rumored for months and are only now being owned by the real estate developer, are expected to shift the mainstream narrative, which has been largely sympathetic toward Arsalan and his family. Hussain is appearing in court today and intends to hold a press conference in Islamabad this evening, according to his lawyer.
Arsalan, 33, has told the court that he has never met Hussain or taken any financial favors from him. Documents available with Newsweek Pakistan, however, show that Hussain’s son-in-law Salman Ahmed Khan, who is based in London, covered Arsalan and his family’s summer visits to the U.K. in 2011 and 2010 by spending some £40,000 on flats and hotel rooms in Central London and on luxury car rentals. Khan may also have sponsored Arsalan and his friends’ airfare and five-star stay in Monte Carlo two years ago. The documents also include Arsalan’s Pakistani passport copy (No. AM4194022), U.K. visa (No. UK358685N) and international driver’s permit (LE-10-1605-INT).
Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, signed the tenancy agreement for Flat 18, 68 North Row, London W1K 7DU, which was paid for by Salman Ahmed, the son-in-law of Malik Riaz.
In 2011, Arsalan stayed in Room No. 2413 at the London Hilton Park Lane from March 25 to April 3, and the £4,778.96 tab was picked up by Hussain’s son-in-law Khan.
On Arsalan’s second visit to the U.K. the same year, he signed a short-term lease with Copperstones Limited to rent the two-bedroom Flat No. 18 at 68, North Row, London. But the advance payment of £17,342 to Copperstones was made by Khan, from his personal account on June 14 and June 17, according to the documents. After the lease ran out, Arsalan and his family, including his mother and siblings, moved into two rooms, including Room No. 231, at the nearby London Marriott Hotel Park Lane for two nights. When Arsalan and his family checked out, Khan used his Visa card to settle the bill of £3,376.80. During this trip, Khan also paid £4,800 to Theoco Limited on Church Lane to cover the four-week rental of a Range Rover Sport (license No. GU59NUK). Invoice No. 0174 dated June 20, 2011, issued by the rental company bears Arsalan’s signature; the payment was made by Khan through wire transfer three days earlier on June 17.
The year before that, Arsalan rented a Range Rover Sport (license No. HSTLA08UBC) for five weeks from the same car company; again, Khan paid £3,000 for this vehicle on June 29 and another £2,348.31 on July 6 through personal checks against invoice No. 0089 dated July 3. Khan also purchased, through credit card, three roundtrip British Air tickets from London to Nice. The reservation details mention the three passengers as Arsalan Iftikhar, Ahmad Khalil and Sana Hanfi. According to the reservation document, the passengers were booked to fly out on July 25 and return on July 29. Additional documents of that trip show that Khan also booked two rooms for four nights for the three at Monte Carlo’s five-star Hotel de Paris. Khan wired the hotel €5,200 (£4,199.64) through wire transfer on July 21, 2010.
Additional documents supporting Hussain’s claims that a total of Rs. 342.50 million was paid to Arsalan are not available with Newsweek Pakistan.
In his affidavit, Hussain reiterates that he was being “blackmailed” by the chief justice’s son and was forced into going public. He has disavowed the involvement of the ruling party or the Army—he has close contacts with both—from his actions.
Hussain’s revelations may put paid to Arsalan’s claims in court and to the press. Speaking to The News, an English-language Pakistani daily, Arsalan said his construction and telecom businesses were “valued” at Rs. 900 million ($9.89 million), employ 400 people, and that while he had been asked through a common friend to speak in favor of Bahria Town to his father, he simply chose not to. He says his foreign trips cost Rs. 5 million, an amount he subsequently reimbursed to a friend not linked directly with Bahria Town. Arsalan also claimed that his friend spotted him because he had not wanted to carry so much cash around. He has acknowledged that he spent £12,000 on flat rent in 2010 and £14,000 last summer.
Arsalan did not wish to comment for this story.
The corruption allegations against Arsalan are not new. The 2007 reference against the chief justice prepared by the then government of Pakistan cited the judge’s alleged seeking of favors to secure his son government sinecures as the No. 1 charge against him.
Post-midnight on June 6, the Supreme Court took notice of media rumors that Hussain may be carrying damning evidence against Arsalan. Hours later, in the first hearing of that case, the chief justice swore on the Quran that he had no knowledge of his son’s sudden wealth or business dealings. Hussain is expected to say otherwise in court today.
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