- Law aimed at resolving property conflicts within 90 days: CM.
- Suspension seen as relief for organized land grabbers: CM.
- The legislative authority of the provincial assembly is firmly defended.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday criticized the Lahore High Court’s decision to stop the implementation of the Punjab Immovable Property Protection Ordinance, 2025, warning that the public would perceive the move as supporting the “land-grabbing mafia”.
In a statement, CM Nawaz said the provincial government had enacted the law to provide the long-awaited relief to millions of citizens who had suffered for years, and even generations, due to protracted property disputes.
He noted that the legislation introduced a strict 90-day timeline for the resolution of land and property cases that would otherwise persist for decades.
“The elected provincial assembly passed this law to free ordinary citizens from the clutches of powerful land mafias,” the chief minister said, adding that the ordinance empowered people for the first time to protect their legally owned lands and properties.
The Prime Minister maintained that the suspension of the law did not harm her personally or politically, but would affect the poor, widowed, helpless and oppressed sections of the society who had finally started receiving justice under the new framework.
He stressed that law-making was a constitutional right of the provincial assembly and could not be restricted.
He further argued that the court’s decision was not in line with well-established judicial principles, and warned that stopping the law would directly benefit squatters. “The public will see this suspension as support for the qabza mafia,” he said.
A day earlier, the Lahore High Court temporarily halted the implementation of the ordinance during hearings on petitions filed by Abida Parveen and others, questioning its legality.
The proceedings were presided over by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, who removed procedural objections to the petitions and recommended the formation of a full bench to hear the matter.
The court also ordered the recovery of properties that had been allotted under the suspended law.
The Punjab government had enacted the ordinance to protect legal owners and ensure quick recourse against illegal occupation.
Under the law, dispute resolution committees, headed by deputy commissioners, and property courts, headed by former or serving district judges, were empowered to resolve disputes and take administrative action.
The ordinance also criminalizes illegal possession of immovable property and prescribes imprisonment of five to ten years and fines of up to Rs 1 million.
