Right to Property |
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Alia Neelum has issued an interim order suspending the operation of the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance 2025, arguing that the law blurs the distinction between the judicial right of citizens to own property and contest decisions related to it, and the discretionary authority of the bureaucracy to make such determinations. While some of the language used by the Chief Justice was pointed and clearly directed at the government, the substance of her concern merits serious examination.
Property ownership is among the most fundamental rights a citizen can possess in any functioning state. The legal assurance that land or a home lawfully belongs to an individual and cannot be arbitrarily taken away forms one........