Bahria Town serves defamation notice on Dawn, claims Express Tribune

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 17 September 2019

Bahria Town has served a defamation notice to Dawn for allegedly false reporting, claiming damages of Rs5 billion. This move escalates the conflict between major newspapers.

Summary

ISLAMABAD — The battle between two leading English newspapers appeared to intensify on Tuesday as The Express Tribune published a front-page story announcing that property tycoon, Malik Riaz, had served legal defamation notice on Dawn for running stories against Bahria Town’s projects in Karachi.

Without naming Dawn, the news said Bahria Town had served Rs5 billion defamation notice along with the demand of unconditional apology “for having run false report in an attempt to tarnish Asia’s largest private real estate developer’s reputation and business.”

The Express Tribune story carries almost the complete legal notice.

On 12 and 13 September, Dawn ran two stories — Bahria Town & others: greed unbound and The land mafia’s rackets: a disaster foretold. Both alleged that the property tycoons are using illegal means and in connivance with the public officials depriving poor people of their land and violating rules with impunity.

The Express Tribune hit back at Dawn on Sept 14. In a front-page story — Unsatiated greed of anti-development mafia — the paper said Dawn had tried “to rake up old allegations against Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) in an attempt to resurrect controversies against the mega project which has set in motion a huge economic activity in the metropolis.”