Pakistan: Context and Land Governance

^{Deosai, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Photo: Qammer Wazir, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)}

Although around 97% of the near 220 million people in Pakistan are Muslim, it is an ethnically diverse country. Punjabis are the single largest ethnic group, comprising around a half of the total population. Administration comprises four self-governing provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh), one federally administered territory (Islamabad Capital Territory) and two autonomous zones in the Kashmir area (Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir). The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which was previously a federally administered territory, was in 2018 merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The country returned to electoral politics in 2008, and in 2021 the government is led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, under leadership of former international cricket star Imran Khan. Nevertheless, the military retains immense power and influence, and represents a major land-owning class. There is a legacy of conflict between military and democratic forces, ethnic groups, and religious factions⁴. Pakistan has suffered from economic stagnation, high levels of corruption and human rights abuses, Islamic extremism, and a tempestuous relationship with neighbouring India and Afghanistan. The latter includes four wars fought against India, with three of these over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

As well as severe income inequality, with nearly 30% of the population below the poverty line, there are high levels of inequality over land ownership, reflecting a class and caste-based society. 64% of land is owned by 5% of landlords, and more than 50% of rural families are landless, a figure that is on the rise⁵.

Land legislation and regulations

Land legislation in Pakistan is pluralistic, scattered and incoherent. It involves a number of statutory and religious laws and then multiple customary practices for a range of ethnic or geographically distinct groupings⁶. A weak rule of law is compounded by corruption and collusion⁷.

Historically, a land revenue and administration system can be traced back to early Muslim rule in the sub-continent the 13th and 14th centuries. The Mughal Emperor Akbar's Minister for Revenue Affairs, Todar Mal (d. 1659) is credited with laying out the basic foundations of an administration system now prevalent in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The British formalised a system, promulgating several laws that are still in force today. Key legislation includes:

• The Transfer of Property Act (1882) - regulates transfers and sales of land, lease exchanges, and other claims of property. It is important in disputes.
• Punjab Tenancy Act (1887) - legislates on the relationship between landlord and tenant.
• Land Acquisition Act (1894) - states that land can be appropriated in the public interest, demanding the payment of compensation at market rates.
• Punjab Alienation Act (1900) - reinforced land inequalities, by restricting transfer between different castes.

After the partition of the sub-continent, the 1973 Constitution for Pakistan determines Islam as the State religion and that all laws align with the Qur’an. All citizens have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property, subject to any legal restrictions in the public interest⁸. Three attempts of legislating land reform (1959, 1972, 1977) have all failed to overcome unequal land distribution⁹. In 2002, a National Resettlement Policy and Resettlement Ordinance were drafted to support unregistered landowners, occupiers, and tenants¹⁰. There are Land Commissions at Federal and Provincial levels, who control administration, following devolution from a centralised colonial-era system with a Deputy Commissioner¹¹. The Revenue Department oversees land records, including that of agricultural land. A system of revenue collection involves officials at various tiers of government. The Punjab Land Revenue Act (1967) sets out details here and is based on the Land Revenue Act of 1887¹².

Land tenure classifications

Freehold land is recognised in statutory and customary laws, but much of it is not formally registered¹³. Farmland is generally held under private ownership, yet frequently leased out. Formal leases are often taken up for areas over 30 hectares and running for at least a year. Leases for smaller parcels, or over shorter periods, are frequently informal. There is also sharecropping, known as battai, commonly on parcels less than 30 hectares. According to the 2010 agricultural census, 71% of tenant land was sharecropped, and arrangements are often intergenerational¹⁴. State-owned land can also be leased out or gifted to citizens. In rural areas, villages often contain common land, known as Shamilat, which is used for collective purposes such as grazing ground, cemeteries, schools, or village ponds¹⁵.

The strong tradition of landlord-tenant relationships ties closely to inequity in land ownership, including landlessness. There is also a close correlation between inequality in land distribution and food insecurity amongst the population¹⁶. Despite a need for land redistribution schemes to counter inequality, large landowners consolidate their property, even if that means leaving unused parcels idle, so that land efficiency and productivity suffers.

Land registration in Pakistan is a cumbersome system. There is a lack of standardisation and alignment to the tax system, which discourage participation, and threaten tenure recognition and security¹⁷. There has been some improvement in the digitisation of land records, which are now complete in Punjab, and in process through the three other provinces. It is hoped that centralised storage at Land Record Management and Information Systems (LARMIS) can help improve accessibility, efficiency, and transparency, acting to counter corruption.

Different ethnic groups in Pakistan follow customary systems of tenure, implemented through local functionaries¹⁸. This includes groups in settled areas under state control, practicing local rules for land inheritance, conflict resolution and resource control. Such a scenario creates tension between formal and customary land practices, particularly for the majority Pashtun population living in cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, now including the recently amalgamated Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Land use trends

Over the past sixty years, the proportion of agricultural land in Pakistan has remained consistent, around 46-48% of total land¹⁹. 90% of this land is located in the Indus River Basin, a highly irrigated area where principal crops comprise wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane and cotton²⁰. Agriculture supports 45% of the population although an increasing number of workers are becoming employed in non-farm activities. There are also significant areas of rangeland, with livestock rearing by nomadic and semi-nomadic groups, principally for a dairy industry. Forest cover, which includes coniferous forests and mangrove areas, is at a mere 5% of total land (2018 level)²¹.

^{Wheat Crop, E Canal Rd, Faisalabad, Pakistan, photo by Paarase Usman, Wikimedia Commons license}

Land degradation is commonplace in Pakistan. In agriculture, high level of tenancy facilitates unsustainable uses of land, while livestock grazing creates erosion on rangelands²². Soil degradation is further compounded by wind and water erosion. Climate change is likely to exacerbate such issues, worsening water and food security²³. A further problem in Pakistan is deforestation, which has one of the highest rates in the world. It occurs for a number of reasons, including clearances for agriculture and to allow construction for urban expansion²⁴. Counter to such activities, Pakistan now has nearly 400 protected areas, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and wetland reserves²⁵. In 2020, these areas cumulatively take up 13% of the total land area, with the government aiming for an increase to 15% in 2023 as part of a Green Stimulus Initiative.

Land investments and acquisitions

Foreign companies registered in Pakistan are able to own land under permission from the Home Department²⁶.  Yet scattered legislation undermines a sense of reliability that foreign investors can trust. Indeed, low levels of investment have contributed to underdevelopment, unaided by the lack of a diversified export industry²⁷. This is despite significant interests for investors, such as important mineral deposits including gemstones, copper, coal, and iron ore²⁸. There is some significant agricultural investment, and the government has introduced stimulus packages alongside provinces such as Punjab and Sindh releasing their own investment policy²⁹. Investors are able lease state farmland for agricultural and livestock ventures.

One area of significant foreign direct investment is the creation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) involving 60 billion USD of targeted investment in energy and other infrastructure projects. Also, with Chinese funding is the Diamer Bhasha Dam, billed as Pakistan’s answer to the Three Gorges Dam³⁰. Although construction started in 2020, the project has been riddled with controversy over land acquisition, displacement, resettlement, and compensation for local communities, with criticisms over government accountability, corruption and embezzlement.
 
Disputes through land acquisitions are prevalent in both rural and urban areas³¹. Deriving from colonial period legislation, key drivers are the favouring of military access to land over farmers, regional underdevelopment particularly through a lack of transportation infrastructure, and large ethno-linguistic shifts through migration during partition³². Major causes for disputes in the present day include incorrect land records, problematic boundary marking with overlapping claims, and multiple registrations³³. There has been a recent estimate of over a million land court cases pending countrywide³⁴. The formal judiciary remains overburdened, and cases can drag on for years. There are no established procedures for bringing a land claim to court, the process further blighted by corruption³⁵. In 2017, the government passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act allowing for out-of-court settlements under government-appointed arbitration³⁶. Customary systems also offer an alternative means to settle disputes, and in tribal areas, a traditional round-table conference (jirga) may be used.

Urban tenure issues

Pakistan is the second most urbanised country in South Asia³⁷. This is despite the fact that in 2020, just over 37% of the population reside in urban areas, a level well below the global average³⁸. Even though agriculture has continuing importance to rural livelihoods, increasing amounts of farmland are being converted to urban infrastructure³⁹. There are high rates of urbanisation in cities such as Karachi (a population now over 16 million people), Lahore (over 12 million people), Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi. Population growth, together with outdated zoning laws has led to an increased demand for but a failure to provide sufficient commercial space⁴⁰. Too much urban development is unplanned and haphazard, working horizontally with little vertical expansion. City administrations have struggled to provide adequate services to cater to growth.

Although various laws govern all areas of Pakistan, there is distinct legislation treating urban and rural land separately⁴¹. Urban systems in themselves suffer from pluralistic governance, with land registration under multiple systems, including a provincial registrar, the army, or housing development authorities⁴². Information here is frequently uncoordinated, a scenario ripe for abuse. The mixture of government-owned areas and informal zones is not conducive to developers and investment. As a result, there is an acute shortage of low-income housing, and a high level of informal land use, such as in squatted areas. Low tenure security leaves squatters susceptible to grabbing by Land Mafia. This mafia involves criminals, property developers and corrupt officials, colluding and competing for increasing scarce resources like land and water⁴³. There have been attempts to limit grabs, such as through the Illegal Dispossession Act of 2005 (amended 2016). Many squatter settlements known as katchi adadis (KA) have been regularised, with around one third of households here obtaining title deeds.

 ^{A slum inside Karachi Pakistan, next to upscale Race Course neighborhood, photo by کراچی برنامج No Real Name Given AKA دانلود سكس, Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license}

Women’s land rights

Despite the constitution upholding gender equality, stating equal rights to own and dispose of property (Article 23), there is a large gap between these aspirations and the discriminations faced by women in everyday life⁴⁴. Although the status of women is not uniform across class, religion and other socio-economic markers, there is a stronghold of patriarchy through Pakistani society, often leaving women secluded at home⁴⁵. There is a low literacy rate for women (42.7% compared to 69.6% for men), and a very low ranking on the Gender Inequality Index⁴⁶. In this sense, the 2011 Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act has achieved minimal effect to improve gender equality. Islamic inheritance law continues to favour sons, while statutory law does not recognise co-ownership of property in marriage, to the benefit of husbands. Rights vary amongst the customary laws of different ethnic groups but are frequently little better. In FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas, now merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), an earlier study found that 97% of women were illiterate, one of the lowest rates in the world, where there are few freedoms afforded, including no rights to land ownership⁴⁷. Nationally, only 4% of women own land, compared to 31% of men, and the agricultural workforce comprises 72.7% women⁴⁸. Women farmers are unable to secure loans to support their work, since such loans are tied to using owned land as collateral.

In 2000, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) was established to help oversee gender rights in government policy⁴⁹. The Ministry for Women Development is the agency responsible for direct policy on women. There are also a number of NGOs working for women’s rights, including Shirkat Gah, Aurat Foundation, Roots for Equity Azra Sayeed, and Thardeep Rural Development Program⁵⁰. Nevertheless, the participation of women in public life is poor. For example, round-table conferences (jirga) used to settle disputes in tribal areas are all-male and are known to show bias against women in their rulings⁵¹. However, there has been some recent progress. The Economic Transformation Initiative in Gilgit-Baltistan (ETI-GB), starting in 2015, has been the first development project of its kind to offer land ownership to women, for 10% of a newly developed area of agricultural land⁵². In 2016, landless women for the first time could receive tenancy agreements to access land⁵³.

Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Tenure (VGGT)

In 2014, a national workshop used the VGGT to seek out ways to improve governance of tenure while helping to achieve food security, environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and economic growth in Pakistan. This multi-stakeholder platform included government representatives from various tiers of authority, civil society, academics and farmers. Land Watch Asia has been involved in monitoring laws and policies in Pakistan, checking how they align with the VGGT.

The VGGT give support to the three priority areas of work for FAO in the country, namely:

1. Zero Hunger: Healthy, Safe and Nutritious Food for All
2. Climate Smart Resilient Agriculture and Sustainable Ecosystems including Forests, Fisheries, Livestock, Rangeland and Water Management
3. Inclusive and Efficient Agriculture and Food Systems

From 2017-2020, the EU Land Governance Programme funded the project Improved Land Tenancy in Sindh Province (ILTS), improving and formalising land tenancy and protecting rural livelihoods, with the stated aim to adhere and promote principles of VGGT.

Timeline - milestones in land governance

1882 – Promulgation of the Transfer of Property Act
Regulates on transfers, sales, lease exchanges, and other claims of property, with important use in disputes.

1887 – Promulgation of the Punjab Tenancy Act
Legislates on the relationship between landlord and tenant.

1947 – Partition of Indian sub-continent
The State of Pakistan was created, later separating from Bangladesh in 1971.

1973 – Constitution
All citizens have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property.

1959-1977 – Attempts at land reform
Despite three attempts to legislate reform, unequal land distribution prevails in Pakistan.

2016 – Tenancy agreements for landless women
This is for the first time in Pakistan.

2018 – Agricultural land takes up 47.1% of all land in Pakistan
Over the past sixty years, the proportion of agricultural land has remained consistent, presently supporting 45% of the population.

2020 – Construction starts on the Diamer Bhasha Dam
With Chinese funding, the project has been riddled with controversy over land acquisition, displacement, resettlement, and compensation for local communities.

Where to go next?

The author’s suggestion for further reading

The recently updated USAID Pakistan country profile provides excellent in-depth analysis of property rights and resource governance⁵⁴. In 2017, Sabir, Torre and Magsi published an illuminating paper, analysing the Diamer Bhasha Dam and various land-related controversies around this mega-project⁵⁵ . For a study on urbanisation processes and their consequences, the reader is recommended to consult Land use conflicts and urban sprawl: Conversion of agriculture lands into urbanization in Hyderabad, Pakistan by Peerzado et al⁵⁶.

In the 2015 article Whose property whose authority? Gendering the legal and customary practices in ownership and access to land: A case of Swat, Pakistan, Khalid et al. look at the rights to land ownership and access for women in a Pashtun community, and the varying influence of customary, religious and statutory laws and practices⁵⁷. For further information on projects concerning women’s land rights, we recommend visiting the websites of various domestic NGOs working on the topic. These include Shirkat Gah, Aurat Foundation, Roots for Equity Azra Sayeed, and Thardeep Rural Development Program.

***References

[1] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[2] FAO, & Aquastat. (2011). Country Profile - Pakistan. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-profile-pakistan

[3] Khan, M. A., Ahmad, M. M., & Hashmi, H. S. (2012). Review of Available Knowledge on Land Degradation in Pakistan. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). https://landportal.org/library/resources/mel20500117667878/review-available-knowledge-land-degradation-pakistan

[4] Bertelsmann Stiftung. (2020). BTI 2020 Country Report Pakistan. Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://landportal.org/library/resources/bti-2020-country-report-pakistan

[5] ibid

Khan, D. (2016, February 22). Pakistan: The economics of land reform. The International News. https://landportal.org/news/2016/02/pakistan-economics-land-reform

[6] UK Home Office. (2017). Pakistan: Land disputes (Country Policy and Information Note). UK Home Office.  https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-policy-and-information-note-pakistan-land-disputes

[7] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID.  https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[8] Bertelsmann Stiftung. (2020). BTI 2020 Country Report Pakistan. Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://landportal.org/library/resources/bti-2020-country-report-pakistan

UN Habitat. (2012). A Guide on Land and Property Rights in Pakistan. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://landportal.org/library/resources/guide-land-and-property-rights-pakistan

USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[9] Kosec, K., Haider, H. S., Spielman, D. J., & Zaidi, F. (2015). The Effects of Political Competition on Rural Land Evidence from Pakistan. International Food Policy Research Institute. https://landportal.org/library/resources/129182/effects-political-competition-rural-land-evidence-pakistan

Zahoor, M. A. (2018). History and Politics of Land Reforms in Pakistan: A Case Study of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Era. Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, 31(2), 115–125. https://landportal.org/library/resources/history-and-politics-land-reforms-pakistan-case-study-zulfikar-ali-bhutto-era

[10 ]USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[11] FAO. (2020). Gender and Land Rights Database Country Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/gender-landrights-database/country-profiles/en/

[12] UN Habitat. (2012). A Guide on Land and Property Rights in Pakistan. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://landportal.org/library/resources/guide-land-and-property-rights-pakistan

[13] UN Habitat. (2012). A Guide on Land and Property Rights in Pakistan. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://landportal.org/library/resources/guide-land-and-property-rights-pakistan

USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[14] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[15] UN Habitat. (2012). A Guide on Land and Property Rights in Pakistan. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://landportal.org/library/resources/guide-land-and-property-rights-pakistan

[16] Mahmood, Z., Iftikhar, S., Saboor, A., Khan, A. U., & Khan, M. (2016). Agriculture land resources and food security nexus in Punjab, Pakistan: An empirical ascertainment. Food and Agricultural Immunology, 27(1), 52–71. https://landportal.org/library/resources/issn-0954-0105-print-1465-3443-online-doi-1010800954010520151079593/agriculture

[17] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[18] UK Home Office. (2017). Pakistan: Land disputes (Country Policy and Information Note). UK Home Office.  https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-policy-and-information-note-pakistan-land-disputes

USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[19] FAOSTAT. (2020). FAOSTAT database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/

[20] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID.  https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[21] FAOSTAT. (2020). FAOSTAT database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/

[22] Khan, M. A., Ahmad, M. M., & Hashmi, H. S. (2012). Review of Available Knowledge on Land Degradation in Pakistan. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). https://landportal.org/library/resources/mel20500117667878/review-available-knowledge-land-degradation-pakistan

Scalise, E. (2009). Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Rural Development Institute (RDI). https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord1698item1690/womens-inheritance-rights-land-and-property-south-asia

[23] Settle, A. C. (2012). Agricultural land acquisition by foreign investors in Pakistan: Government policy and community responses. The Land Deal Politics Initiative. https://landportal.org/library/resources/agricultural-land-acquisition-foreign-investors-pakistan

[24] Nazir, N., & Ahmad, S. (2016). Forest land conversion dynamics: A case of Pakistan. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 20, 389–405. https://landportal.org/library/resources/httpsdoiorg101007s10668-016-9887-3/forest-land-conversion-dynamics-case-pakistan

USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[25] Khan, M. A. A. (2020, July 13). Pakistan’s ‘Protected Areas Initiative’. IUCN. https://www.iucn.org/news/pakistan/202007/pakistans-protected-areas-initiative

[26] Settle, A. C. (2012). Agricultural land acquisition by foreign investors in Pakistan: Government policy and community responses. The Land Deal Politics Initiative. https://landportal.org/library/resources/agricultural-land-acquisition-foreign-investors-pakistan

[27] CIA. (2020). The World Factbook: Pakistan. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html

[28] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[29] Settle, A. C. (2012). Agricultural land acquisition by foreign investors in Pakistan: Government policy and community responses. The Land Deal Politics Initiative. https://landportal.org/library/resources/agricultural-land-acquisition-foreign-investors-pakistan

[30] Sabir, M., Torre, A., & Magsi, H. (2017). Land-use conflict and socio-economic impacts of infrastructure projects: The case of Diamer Bhasha Dam in Pakistan. Area Development and Policy, 2(1), 40–54. https://landportal.org/library/resources/issn-2379-2949-print-2379-2957-online/land-use-conflict-and-socio-economic-impacts

[31] UK Home Office. (2017). Pakistan: Land disputes (Country Policy and Information Note). UK Home Office. https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-policy-and-information-note-pakistan-land-disputes

[32] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[33] UK Home Office. (2017). Pakistan: Land disputes (Country Policy and Information Note). UK Home Office. https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-policy-and-information-note-pakistan-land-disputes

[34] ibid

[35] Bertelsmann Stiftung. (2020). BTI 2020 Country Report Pakistan. Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://landportal.org/library/resources/bti-2020-country-report-pakistan

[36] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[37] ibid

[38] UN. (2020). World Urbanization Prospects 2018. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Dynamics. https://population.un.org/wup/

[39] Peerzado, M. B., Magsi, H., & Sheikh, M. J. (2019). Land use conflicts and urban sprawl: Conversion of agriculture lands into urbanization in Hyderabad, Pakistan. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 18(4), 423–428. https://landportal.org/library/resources/httpsdoiorg101016jjssas201802002/land-use-conflicts-and-urban-sprawl-conversion

[40] Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. (2014). Pakistan 2025: One Nation—One Vision. Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. https://landportal.org/library/resources/pakistan-2025-one-nation-one-vision

[41] UN Habitat. (2012). A Guide on Land and Property Rights in Pakistan. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://landportal.org/library/resources/guide-land-and-property-rights-pakistan

[42] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[43] UK Home Office. (2017). Pakistan: Land disputes (Country Policy and Information Note). UK Home Office. https://landportal.org/library/resources/country-policy-and-information-note-pakistan-land-disputes

[44] Khalid, A., Nyborg, I., & Khattak, B. N. (2015). Whose property whose authority? Gendering the legal and customary practices in ownership and access to land: A case of Swat, Pakistan. Journal of Rural Studies, 41, 47–58.

[45] FAO. (2020). Gender and Land Rights Database Country Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/gender-landrights-database/country-profiles/en/

Scalise, E. (2009). Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Rural Development Institute (RDI). https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord1698item1690/womens-inheritance-rights-land-and-property-south-asia

[46] Bertelsmann Stiftung. (2020). BTI 2020 Country Report Pakistan. Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://landportal.org/library/resources/bti-2020-country-report-pakistan

USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[47] Scalise, E. (2009). Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Rural Development Institute (RDI). https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord1698item1690/womens-inheritance-rights-land-and-property-south-asia

[48] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[49] FAO. (2020). Gender and Land Rights Database Country Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/gender-landrights-database/country-profiles/en/

[50] Scalise, E. (2009). Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Rural Development Institute (RDI). https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord1698item1690/womens-inheritance-rights-land-and-property-south-asia

[51] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[52] Yousuf, A., & Assan, J. (2018). Women’s Right to Land Entitlement an Effort of the Gender Mainstreaming for Gender Equality (The Case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan). World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(3), 189–200. https://landportal.org/library/resources/1012691wjssh-4-3-7/women%E2%80%99s-right-land-entitlement-effort-gender-mainstreaming

[53] Salman, F. (2016, January 28). Landless women farmers receive land tenancy for the first time in Pakistan. UN Women. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2713item2900/landless-women-farmers-receive-land-tenancy-first-time

[54] USAID. (2018). Property Rights and Resource Governance: Pakistan [USAID Country Profile]. USAID. https://landportal.org/library/resources/landwiserecord2961item3187/usaid-country-profile-pakistan

[55] Sabir, M., Torre, A., & Magsi, H. (2017). Land-use conflict and socio-economic impacts of infrastructure projects: The case of Diamer Bhasha Dam in Pakistan. Area Development and Policy, 2(1), 40–54. https://landportal.org/library/resources/issn-2379-2949-print-2379-2957-online/land-use-conflict-and-socio-economic-impacts

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