Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that, for the first time, a time limit of 90 days has been fixed for the disposal of land and property cases that have continued for years and even generations.
She said the law was enacted to provide relief to millions of people in Punjab who have been suffering for decades. The legislation was passed by the democratically elected Provincial Assembly to free the public from the clutches of powerful land mafias. Through this law, citizens have, for the first time, been empowered to protect their lawful land and property, and an evidence-based legal framework has been introduced.
In her statement regarding the suspension of the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act, 2025, the chief minister said that the court’s decision was not in accordance with the settled principles laid down by the superior judiciary. She said the suspension of the law would benefit encroachment mafias, and the public would perceive it as support for land grabbers.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the law provided comprehensive protection to the oppressed by covering all administrative and legal aspects. She pointed out that stay orders in land cases often remain in force for decades. She clarified that the law was not enacted for her personal benefit, nor has its suspension caused her any personal loss; however, it has resulted in serious harm to people who have been victimised by encroachment and land mafias.
She emphasised that legislation is the constitutional right of the provincial assembly and cannot be obstructed. She said the suspension of the law would not harm her personally but would adversely affect the poor, the needy, the helpless, widows, and the oppressed whose grievances were being addressed. “Without justice, the hope that the poor and the oppressed had finally begun to hold on to will be shattered,” she added.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari has said that the Punjab Property Ownership Ordinance against the land-grabbing mafia is not a declaration of war against anyone, but a safeguard for the legal rights of common citizens, widows, orphans, and overseas Pakistanis. She said it is the government’s responsibility to present the other side of the picture before the public.
She said that those who today are displaying extraordinary affection for the judiciary were the same individuals who harshly criticized it in the past. “Chief Justice’s pictures were used for spectacle, the Toshakhana was taken home, and now questions are being raised about what a judge should do,” she added.
She expressed these views during her address to the Punjab Assembly on the Property Ordinance. Azma Bokhari said that legal loopholes are always found for the powerful, but when the land of a widow, an orphan, or a sister is forcibly occupied, justice remains elusive for years. In many cases, brothers occupy their sisters’ property, or after a father’s death, uncles seize the land of orphaned children. Providing justice to such oppressed individuals, she emphasized, is the core purpose of this law.
She clarified that the Punjab Property Ownership Ordinance empowers authorities to act against the land-grabbing mafia-an organized network that has long been occupying land through fake mutations and bogus documents. Action against such illegal occupations, she said, cannot be termed wrong.
The Information Minister further said that once illegal occupation is proven, the law mandates a decision within 90 days on a single application. So far, 5,044 cases have been decided, and properties have been restored to their rightful owners. In several instances, possession was retrieved within hours, providing immediate relief to widows and oppressed citizens.
She further stated that according to the report of World Justice Project nearly 2.3 million cases are currently pending nationwide, while out of 169,000 cases in the Lahore High Court, 11,000 pertain solely to property disputes. On average, property cases take 20 years in civil courts, 5 years in high courts, and 15 years in the Supreme Court, making fast-track justice laws indispensable.
Azma Bokhari said that similar laws for speedy justice exist worldwide, questioning why such legislation should be controversial in Pakistan. “Why should we stand with the land-grabbing mafia?” she asked, adding that demanding the return of properties already restored to rightful owners is sheer injustice.