National Real Estate News

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

The Lahore Tax Bar Association has raised concerns over prolonged delays in appeals before the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue and the Federal Board of Revenue’s failure to implement its rulings, calling for measures to ensure taxpayers receive practical relief.

The association said appeals filed without applications for stay orders were not being listed for hearings for as long as four years. Such delays, it said, were leaving taxpayers facing uncertainty and increasing legal complications.

The tax bar particularly stressed the need to enforce tribunal orders in cases involving blacklisting and suspension. Issuing rulings alone was insufficient unless taxpayers received the relief granted through those decisions, it said.

The association welcomed prompt relief on applications for stay orders but maintained that appeals filed without such applications must also receive due attention.

It called for clear priorities for hearing cases, an end to unnecessary delays and measures requiring the FBR to comply with the tribunal’s orders.

Sihala | ReNews Pakistan

Punjab’s Forest Department has been granted force status to strengthen forest protection and improve action against illegal logging and timber theft, with women personnel inducted for the first time in the department’s history.

Training and passing-out ceremonies were held for women personnel at the Police Training College in Multan and for male personnel at the Police Training Centre in Sihala. Punjab Director General Forests Muhammad Azfar Zia attended as chief guest.

The training was intended to prepare personnel, particularly women forest inspectors and rangers, for their professional responsibilities and improve the department’s capacity to prevent activities that damage forests.

The department has also begun establishing and constructing new departmental police stations. Plans include setting up its own lockups to strengthen the system for taking legal action against suspects allegedly involved in forest offences and timber theft.

Illegal tree felling, theft of valuable timber and damage to natural resources pose significant challenges to environmental protection and the preservation of national assets. The training and expansion of the department’s enforcement infrastructure are intended to improve its operational capacity to address these offences.

However, official details have yet to be released on the jurisdiction of the new stations, operating procedures for the proposed lockups, and arrangements for investigating and pursuing cases.

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

Islamabad’s newspaper market has reopened after remaining sealed for two days, allowing newspaper distribution to resume across the federal capital.

Speaking to the daily Jang, Tikka Khan, lifetime secretary general of the newspaper vendors’ federation, said there was no dispute with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) or any other government agency over the market.

He said 400 newspaper vendors were associated with the market, which had been established approximately 47 years ago. According to Khan, the premises had been sealed without prior notice.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chairman and World Muslim Congress Secretary General Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq said certain elements were deliberately adopting an unfriendly attitude towards the media and creating problems for the government.

Haq said he had arranged for the market to be allotted to the newspaper vendors’ union in 1982 while serving as minister for information and broadcasting.

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

The essential documentation required by banks for housing loans under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme has been reduced to five documents, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Works.

In a statement, the spokesperson said the State Bank of Pakistan had issued instructions to banks to limit and standardise the documentation required for housing finance.

The five essential documents are the transfer letter, possession letter, site plan, permission to mortgage letter and mortgage registration.

The spokesperson said the changes were intended to simplify the borrowing process, spare applicants unnecessary documentation requirements and improve access to financing for home construction.

According to the ministry, the nationwide Apna Ghar Programme provides loans of up to Rs 10 million for people building their first home.

The spokesperson said complaints had previously been received about banks asking housing loan applicants to submit a large number of documents. Limiting and standardising the essential paperwork was aimed at addressing those difficulties.

The ministry said the revised requirements would particularly benefit first time homebuilders seeking financing and make it easier for eligible applicants to access the programme.

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

The first phase of the model jail in Islamabad’s Sector H 16 has been completed and is ready for inauguration, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expected to formally open the facility soon.

Once the prison becomes operational, all Islamabad prisoners currently held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi will be transferred to the new facility.

Sources said Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf founder Imran Khan could also be moved to the Islamabad jail. However, no final decision on his transfer has been confirmed.

The prison project covers 90 acres, with its first phase providing capacity for 1,000 inmates in three barracks. A residence for the jail superintendent, 12 flats for officers and a three-storey barracks building for staff have also been completed.

The facility includes a 32 bed hospital, an administration block and a kitchen, along with two watchtowers and 34 security posts. Construction has cost Rs 7 billion. Prison staff have been appointed, while CDA personnel will operate the hospital.

CDA Chairman and Islamabad Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf visited the project site a day earlier to inspect its various sections and review ongoing construction, infrastructure development, the project’s status and its completion schedule.

He was accompanied by CDA Director General Services Mashooq Ali Sheikh, the relevant assistant commissioner and senior Islamabad jail officials.

Officials briefed the CDA chairman on progress during the visit. Ashraf also discussed construction quality with the project team and issued instructions.

Quetta | ReNews Pakistan

Former Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan president and former senator Amanullah Kanrani has urged the federal and provincial governments to release funds immediately for the Sohbatpur Kashmore road and ensure early completion of the strategically important project.

In a statement, Kanrani said work on the Balochistan section was progressing towards completion through the efforts of provincial Communications Minister Mir Saleem Khan Khosa and the attention given to the project by successive provincial governments, from Jam Kamal to Mir Sarfraz Bugti.

However, he said the onward section in Sindh had yet to receive an allocation in the federal budget, despite tenders having previously been issued for survey work.

According to Kanrani, completing the road would improve access to the motorway through Kashmore. He said people travelling from Quetta to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would cover approximately 150 kilometres less than the route through Jacobabad and Sukkur to the Guddu Kashmore motorway interchange, reducing journey times by two hours.

He said the route would also improve road connections between other parts of Balochistan and Dera Bugti, as well as the Sui, Uch, Pirkoh and Loti gas fields.

Kanrani pointed out that the latest federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) included the Kashmore–Sui road but omitted the Sohbatpur Kashmore project.

He clarified that he had no objection to the Kashmore Sui road. However, he maintained that residents of Dera Bugti would prefer the Sohbatpur Kashmore route for travel between Balochistan and Sindh, citing the large Bugti tribal population living along the route in both provinces.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

Punjab has prohibited children from attending classes in dangerous, dilapidated or structurally unsafe buildings across government, private and outsourced schools following an incident at a private school in Peshawar.

In a notification, the Directorate of Public Instruction (Secondary Education), Punjab, directed education officials and school heads to immediately vacate unsafe premises and prevent their further use.

The prohibition covers entire school buildings as well as individual classrooms or any other section deemed dangerous or structurally unsafe. School heads have been instructed to cordon off affected areas and relocate pupils to safe classrooms. Where necessary, students must be accommodated at nearby schools to continue their education.

The notification states that no dangerous building or classroom may be brought back into use without clearance from the relevant authorised technical body.

If an incident occurs and negligence or failure to comply with the instructions is established, the school head concerned will be held responsible. In private schools, owners or management will also face action in accordance with the law, while the relevant operators or management will face similar action in outsourced schools.

The directorate has instructed chief executive officers of district education authorities, district education officers, deputy district education officers and assistant education officers to ensure immediate implementation and strict monitoring within their respective jurisdictions.

The notification identifies children’s safety as the foremost priority and states that violations of the instructions will not be tolerated.