Beyond real estate: Malik Riaz transforms social welfare in Pakistan

With Pakistan’s economy so dire that its government can no longer take up social welfare projects, private corporations and businesses are picking up the slack. One such is Bahria Town Foundation of Malik Riaz, Asia’s largest real estate developer. Through this Foundation, Malik Riaz, alongside his son, Ahmed Ali Riaz, has established numerous programmes focusing on providing healthcare, education, and financial aid to underprivileged communities, writes Nicholas Dempsie in a research-based article for ‘The World Financial Review’.

The Foundation’s trailblazing programmes include Bahria Dastarkhawan, a social welfare initiative aiming to eradicate hunger through its centres across the country that serve free meals twice a day, every day, to anyone who walks in, Dempsie further states in the article.

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Dempsie writes that while the international community is focused on dealing with global crises such as viral pandemics and armed conflicts, people in third-world countries face increasingly difficult living conditions. In Pakistan, for instance, poverty has surged by over 5% within just one year, with 40% of the population living below the poverty line.