Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

A three day Saudi Pakistan Real Estate Exhibition is scheduled to open at Lake City in Lahore today, October 21, and run until October 23. According to Arab News, the event will present residential and investment property opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Pakistan Business Council, one of the organisers, said the exhibition would bring together stakeholders from both countries to explore investment prospects and business cooperation.
Visitors will have an opportunity to learn about Saudi property projects and engage directly with developers. The exhibition will feature residential properties alongside projects marketed for investment.
The event is intended to provide a platform for investors, developers and industry representatives to showcase projects and discuss potential partnerships between the two countries.
It comes amid efforts to expand Pakistan–Saudi economic ties, with real estate and property development emerging as potential areas for cross-border investment.
Saudi Arabia is expanding infrastructure and developing tourism, recreation and real estate under its Vision 2030 economic diversification programme. Against this backdrop, the exhibition will offer Pakistani businesses a platform to build connections within the Saudi property sector.
Arab News’ report, published on the morning of October 21, outlined the scheduled opening. It did not report any completed investment agreements or transactions resulting from the exhibition.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has intensified enforcement against restaurants, hotels and other businesses for failing to use the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (EIMS) and maintaining irregular digital transaction records.
According to a PRA spokesperson, notices were issued to 250 businesses not connected to EIMS during the past 24 hours. Thirty business operators were also fined over digital payment irregularities and violations of tax laws.
The enforcement operations took place in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi. The spokesperson said the authority also registered more than 50 new businesses during the same period.
The PRA directed businesses to maintain accurate sales records through EIMS and comply with applicable tax laws. It said action was being taken against businesses evading taxes or manipulating digital records, resulting in losses to the public exchequer.
The spokesperson urged consumers to verify their receipts through the PRA Facilitation App. Consumers can use the application to check receipts issued for their purchases or services.
Citizens were also advised to lodge complaints through social media platforms against businesses issuing unverified receipts or refusing to accept digital payments.
The spokesperson said effective use of EIMS was helping prevent potential financial irregularities and broaden Punjab’s tax net. The provincial government is continuing efforts to modernise tax administration and expand digital monitoring to improve transparency and compliance.

Lahore | Riaz Hussain ReNews Pakistan

The Lahore High Court has allowed a petition challenging property tax imposed on the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), located in DHA Phase V, declaring tax demands for periods before 2023 unlawful. The court also set aside the cantonment board’s tax-related orders issued in 2011 and 2017.

A two-member bench issued the ruling on the university’s petition. It held that educational institutions were exempt from property tax before the law was amended in 2023 and that the amendment could not be applied retrospectively to earlier tax demands.

In its written judgment, the court clarified that charging tuition fees did not, in itself, mean the university operated on a commercial basis. It noted that LUMS was a nonprofit educational institution that reinvested fee income in educational activities and scholarships for deserving students.

The court further observed that the university’s management or owners did not derive personal financial benefit from those funds. An educational institution could not be classified as a commercial enterprise solely because it collected fees.

Rejecting the retrospective application of the 2023 amendment, the court declared the demands for property tax relating to the earlier period unlawful.

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

A meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has agreed to advance four National Highway Authority (NHA) infrastructure projects under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
Held in Islamabad, the meeting considered preliminary preparations and the business aspects of the proposed projects. Khan directed NHA officials to prepare business plans to take the proposals forward.
The projects under consideration include a 169 kilometre section of the M 10 Motorway. Participants discussed pursuing the proposed section through a partnership between the public and private sectors.
The proposals also include a route linking Mansehra, Naran, Jalkhad and Chilas with the Chinese border. The Guru Nanak Expressway, intended for Sikh pilgrims, was another project considered at the meeting.
Participants also discussed extending the Murree Expressway to Kashmir. Alongside preparations for the proposed projects, Khan stressed the importance of strengthening the NHA’s financial independence.
Muhammad Ali, the prime minister’s adviser on privatisation, assured the meeting of his cooperation. Officials agreed to complete preliminary work on the proposals within one week.
A follow up meeting will review progress once the initial work is completed. The supplied details did not announce final project costs, private sector partners or dates for the start of construction.

Peshawar | ReNews Pakistan

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has sought property and financial records in an inquiry involving provincial lawmaker Dr Amjad Ali, who serves as the chief minister’s special assistant on housing. Reports say the inquiry concerns alleged assets disproportionate to declared income and suspected corruption involving housing-related matters.
Dr Amjad Ali, Bacha Syed, Muhammad Arif Shah, Siraj Ahmad and Naveed Ahmad have been summoned to appear before NAB in Peshawar between October 20 and 22, 2026. The bureau has requested allotment, ownership and payment details concerning properties in Islamabad’s Eighteen Housing Society and the Jalozai Housing Scheme. Salary, allowance, benefit and travel records have also been sought from the Accountant General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The inquiry also covers questions about legal title, land transfer documents and physical possession at Mega City Nowshera. Reports allege possible deficiencies in the Housing Authority’s documentation and possession of the designated land. NAB has requested the project’s complete original record, including site surveys, land acquisition documents, technical and financial files, and correspondence with relevant departments.
The bureau has also sought details of properties held in the names of 31 relatives of Dr Amjad Ali, comprising 20 men and 11 women. It has requested written agreements dated February 15, 16 and 22, 2022, between the chief executive of Lead Private Limited and the provincial housing minister, alongside the names and CNIC numbers of committee members who jointly visited the project site on February 24, 2022.
Former Housing Authority officials, including a former secretary and director general, are reportedly being examined over allegations of acquiring residential properties in Mega City Nowshera contrary to the rules. Other allegations under investigation concern the use of 12 official vehicles, access by relatives to vehicles and official fuel, the reported allotment of flat A04 on the third floor of the Warsak-1 high-rise flats to the provincial minister’s daughter, and alleged unlawful appointments of relatives within the authority.
The procedural background includes a March 2026 direction from the Peshawar High Court instructing NAB not to harass Dr Amjad Ali in connection with an assets case. The supplied report does not include responses from him or the other individuals concerned to the current allegations.
Requests for records and summonses are investigative steps and do not establish wrongdoing. Naming housing schemes in an inquiry also does not establish that entire developments are illegal, buyers have lost possession or particular transfer deeds have been cancelled. Any definitive legal conclusions will depend on the evidence, subsequent proceedings and decisions of the competent forum.