Requisitioned Land (Continuance of Powers) Ordinance, 1969

This Ordinance kept certain wartime emergency powers over requisitioned land in effect after the Defence of Pakistan Ordinance, 1965 expired. It applies to land that was under requisition (government seizure of use, short of ownership) at the time the earlier wartime ordinance ceased to have effect, and covers the whole of Pakistan.

Section 3 says that even though the Defence of Pakistan Ordinance and its rules stopped applying, all previously requisitioned land stays requisitioned, and the "appropriate Government" (federal or provincial, whichever requisitioned it) may continue to use or deal with it as it sees fit, while retaining the option to release any land from requisition at any time. Section 4 sets out how release works: the government specifies in writing who gets possession back; if that person cannot be found, the government publishes a notice in the official Gazette and posts it on the land itself, after which the land is deemed delivered and the government is no longer liable for the land.

Section 5 lets the government go further and permanently acquire (rather than just continue requisitioning) land, by publishing a notice in the Gazette, which vests the land absolutely in the government free of encumbrances. This can only happen in two situations: where government-funded works have been built on the land and the government wants to keep their value, or where restoring the land to its original condition would cost more than the land itself was worth and the owner won't accept release without compensation. Any such decision is final and cannot be challenged in court.

Section 6 sets out compensation: for continued requisition, compensation follows the rules that applied under the original 1965 Ordinance; for outright acquisition, compensation is fixed by agreement if possible, or by an arbitrator (someone qualified to be a High Court judge) applying principles from the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, with appeals to the High Court unless the amount is below a prescribed threshold. Section 7 lets the government demand information about requisitioned land from anyone holding it, treating a refusal as an offence under the Pakistan Penal Code. Section 9 protects the government and officials from lawsuits over good-faith actions under the Ordinance.

This is an old, narrowly-scoped 1969 law tied to a specific historical wartime measure (the Defence of Pakistan Ordinance, 1965) that has long since expired; it is unlikely to have ongoing practical relevance except for legacy disputes over land requisitioned during that period, and any compensation figures or procedures should be checked against the current official text given its age.