Lahore Division

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that successors cannot revive stale and time barred claims if the original owner failed to challenge a property mutation during his lifetime, reinforcing the importance of limitation laws and legal certainty in property matters.
The judgment was delivered in a petition filed by Jan Muhammad, who sought to challenge the mutation of inherited agricultural land after an extraordinary lapse of nearly eight decades. The court categorically held that such an inordinate delay is wholly inexcusable and cannot be condoned under the guise of inheritance rights.
While acknowledging that inheritance rights may, in certain circumstances, be recurring in nature, the court emphasized that this principle is not absolute. It remains subject to equitable considerations, including delay, acquiescence, and the overall conduct of the parties.
The court observed that, based on both oral and documentary evidence, the rule of inheritance at the relevant time was governed by custom. It noted that prior to 1948, individuals acquiring agricultural land became its absolute owners under customary law. Following the enforcement of the Punjab Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1948, and subsequently Section 2-A of the West Pakistan Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1962, such ownership rights were further recognized and protected.
In its ruling, the LHC found that the petitioners failed to establish any jurisdictional defect, illegality, or material irregularity in the impugned judgment and decree that would warrant interference under the court’s revisional jurisdiction.
The court also underscored that long-standing entries in the revenue record, particularly those in favor of the respondents, are protected under Section 52 of the West Pakistan Land Revenue Act, 1967. It held that once the prescribed limitation period expires, a vested right accrues in favor of the opposite party.
Highlighting another critical aspect, the court noted that numerous mutations and subsequent transfers had taken place on the basis of the contested mutation, thereby creating valuable rights in favor of third parties, including bona fide purchasers. It warned that disturbing such settled entries after several decades would lead to uncertainty, instability, and chaos in property relations.
The court reaffirmed that longstanding revenue entries carry a presumption of correctness, which strengthens over time. It further observed that the appellate court had conducted a comprehensive and judicious appraisal of the evidence, producing well reasoned findings firmly anchored in law.
Finding no misreading or non-reading of evidence, and no indication of perversity or arbitrariness, the LHC concluded that the appellate court had committed no illegality in issuing the impugned judgment and decree, thereby dismissing the petition.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
In Pakistan’s real estate landscape, investor attention has traditionally been concentrated in residential plots, commercial plazas, apartment projects, and off plan files in developing housing societies. These segments dominate advertising cycles, dealer networks, and short-term speculative activity in major cities such as Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.
However, a gradual shift in investment thinking is emerging among long-term investors who are looking beyond conventional urban real estate cycles. Agricultural land is increasingly being viewed as an undervalued but strategically significant asset class.
According to official economic estimates, Pakistan’s agriculture sector contributes approximately 19–20% to national GDP and provides employment to nearly 37–40% of the workforce. With more than 47 million hectares of total land area, a large portion remains classified as cultivable, forming the backbone of food production, livestock supply chains, and rural trade networks.
Unlike urban property markets driven heavily by speculation and rapid resale cycles, agricultural land offers a fundamentally different investment profile. It is a productive asset tied to crop yields, water availability, irrigation infrastructure, and commodity demand. In many regions, especially along expanding urban fringes, farmland also carries long term potential for peri-urban conversion as cities expand outward.
Recent market trends indicate that agricultural land located near major urban corridors has recorded annual appreciation in the range of 10% to 20% in some cases, particularly where access to roads, water channels, and developing infrastructure improves accessibility. At the same time, income from cultivation depending on crop adds an additional yield component that urban speculative assets typically do not provide.
As inflationary pressures and regulatory uncertainty continue to affect parts of the urban property sector, investors are increasingly reassessing farmland not merely as rural property, but as a stable, multi dimensional asset class with both productive and future development value.

Lahore: [Riaz Hussain ReNews Pakistan]
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) announced its second public auction for the year 2026, scheduled to take place on May 19 at 10:00 AM at the Expo Centre Johar Town. The auction is being organized on the directives of Director General Tahir Farooq and is expected to offer diverse investment opportunities for investors and developers.
According to LDA officials, commercial plots located in major areas of the city will be presented in the auction, including Johar Town, Jubilee Town, LDA Avenue One, Allama Iqbal Town, and Tajpura. In addition, commercial plots in Sabzazar, Mustafa Town, LDA City, Model Town Extension, Quaid e Azam Town, and Tezab Market will also be part of the auction.
Residential plots in Johar Town, LDA City, LDA Enclave Mohlanwal, Jubilee Town, and Tajpura will also be offered to investors.
Officials further stated that, in addition to government owned properties, public utility sites located in private housing schemes will also be sold. Lease rights for education and health sites, petrol pumps, and market sites at various locations will be auctioned as well.
Moreover, lease rights for parking areas, sports sites, and commercial buildings will also be included in the auction. Notably, a petrol pump site in LDA City and market sites located in FTC Johar Town are expected to attract significant interest from investors.
Experts believe that this auction by LDA will create new investment opportunities in the city and play a key role in boosting activity in the real estate market.