Land/Property Laws

A 1940 Act imposing a small customs duty on the export of listed agricultural products (like wheat, cotton-related goods, fruits, and hides) from Pakistan, with power for the government to adjust rates or exempt items.

An old (1937) law creating a government grading and marking scheme for agricultural produce quality (like an official quality-grade seal), with criminal penalties for unauthorized or counterfeit use of grade marks — its coverage has been expanded to many products over the decades via notifications.

This 1884 colonial-era Act empowers provincial governments to make rules for agricultural ("takkavi") loans to farmers for relief of distress or purchase of seed and cattle, recoverable like unpaid land revenue.

An 1879 debt-relief law for indebted farmers in parts of the Dekkhan (later extended to Sindh/Karachi), giving courts special powers to investigate debts, order instalment repayment, protect farmland from seizure, and set up conciliation and insolvency procedures for agriculturists.

The Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885 supplements the main land acquisition law for cases where minerals lie beneath land the government wants to acquire, setting out notice periods, compensation, and inspection rules for mine owners when their mining could damage the acquired surface land. It is an old, technical law.

A 1952 law letting authorities in Karachi Division declare "controlled areas," require permission before building, and evict or demolish unauthorised construction, with a fine up to one thousand rupees or up to six months' imprisonment for violations.

A colonial-era 1883 act, still amended over the decades, that sets out how government loans for agricultural land improvement (wells, irrigation, drainage, land clearing) are granted, repaid over up to thirty-five years, and recovered like land revenue arrears.

A 2001 ordinance banning the sale or transfer of minority communities' communal properties (places of worship, burial grounds, community centers, etc.) without a Federal Government NOC, punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of at least one hundred thousand rupees.

A 1969 Ordinance that kept land requisitioned under the expired Defence of Pakistan Ordinance, 1965 under continued government control, allowing release (Section 4), permanent acquisition (Section 5), and compensation (Section 6) for affected landowners.

The Sindh Revenue Jurisdiction Act, 1876 bars civil courts from hearing most land-revenue disputes (assessments, arrears, boundary and record disputes) in Sindh and the Karachi Division, leaving them to revenue officers, while preserving courts' jurisdiction over private property disputes and excess-payment claims.

An 1863 law setting up a special claims process, including dedicated "Special Courts," for people who claim ownership of or object to the government's sale of waste land, with a three-year limitation period and compensation (rather than return of land) as the remedy.

The law establishing Pakistan's system for compulsory deduction of Zakat and collection of Ushr from Muslim citizens, the administrative councils and committees that manage Zakat Funds, and the procedure for filing a declaration to be exempted based on one's fiqh.