ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has strongly opposed the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act, 2025, terming it unconstitutional, unlawful, and detrimental to the country’s judicial system. The council warned the Punjab government against implementing what it described as the “illegal aspirations of land mafias” and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the law.
Presiding over the PBC’s 247th meeting at the Supreme Court Building in Islamabad, Vice Chairman Chaudhry Tahir Nasrullah Warraich said the outgoing cabinet had unanimously rejected the Act. The council also called on the Punjab government to issue an apology to the Lahore High Court (LHC) for what it termed an inappropriate response following judicial intervention.
The PBC maintained that the law conflicts with key legal frameworks, including the Civil Procedure Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Qanoon-i-Shahadat (Evidence Act), and the Illegal Dispossession Act. It expressed concern that the Act empowers deputy commissioner-led committees to decide property disputes, creating a parallel system of jurisprudence that bypasses civil courts and undermines judicial supremacy.
On December 22, LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum suspended the operation of the Act and referred the matter to a full bench for adjudication. The move was subsequently endorsed by lawyers’ associations across the province on December 24.
The council praised the LHC for what it called a timely and necessary intervention, warning that the legislation erodes civil rights and allows executive officials to exercise judicial authority. It further cautioned that failure to take corrective measures within days could compel the legal community to launch a nationwide movement in defence of judicial independence and the rule of law.
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