Protecting the legal and property interests of overseas Pakistanis

Any person holding a Pakistani passport, CNIC, NICOP, Pakistan Origin Card, or OPF membership card proving nationality, who is living, working or studying abroad, permanently or temporarily, for more than 182 days in a tax year. You can file personally or through an authorized representative.

Far more than qabza. In May 2026 the Lahore High Court held that jurisdiction extends to all matters having nexus with an overseas Pakistani’s immovable property:

• Illegal possession and recovery
• Specific performance against housing societies and developers
• Cancellation of fraudulent transactions and powers of attorney
• Inheritance, partition and mutation disputes
• Ancillary and consequential matters, whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant

Generally, no. The system is remote access by design: e-filing through the court portal (identity verified against NADRA), court fees payable through international payment gateways, documents attested at your nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate, or authenticated by video call before the court’s Registrar, and evidence and hearings by video link, on your request as an overseas litigant.

The applicable legislation establishes a statutory 90-day disposal framework after leave to defend, subject to court process and applicable law. It also prescribes a 15-day period to seek leave to defend, permits the court to require security of at least 10% of the property's value, limits individual adjournments to 7 days, and prescribes separate timelines for appeals and stays. These statutory periods guide the court process but do not guarantee that any individual matter will conclude within 90 days. KP's legislation provides a 120-day framework.

No. Once notice issues, any transfer, alienation, encumbrance or parting with possession is void by statute. The court can also attach the property, appoint receivers, restore possession on an interim basis, and bind third party purchasers and benami holders.

The applicable legislation provides for the decree to proceed into execution without a separate execution petition and prescribes a 15-day hearing framework, subject to court process and applicable law. The court may call on police and law-enforcement to deliver possession, and mala fide objections intended to delay execution may attract statutory consequences.

The opposite, this may be the single biggest opportunity in the new law. Under Section 13, all pending cases involving an overseas Pakistani and immovable property stand transferred to the special courts, continuing from the stage already reached, no fresh trial. The Lahore High Court has directed that even cases wrongly kept in or returned to civil courts must be shifted. We audit pending files and secure the transfer.

Punjab (special courts notified in all 37 districts), Islamabad Capital Territory (operational with full procedural rules since March 2026), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Act passed 2026, courts being established). Sindh and Balochistan do not yet have equivalent statutes, there, ordinary civil courts and the Illegal Dispossession Act 2005 apply, and we route matters accordingly.

Initial consultations are complimentary. Where a matter requires prior research, document review or preparation of substantive advice before the session, an initial retainer is agreed in writing following execution of a Non-Disclosure Agreement and Data Protection Agreement, based on matter assessment. All engagement fees are quoted and confirmed in writing before work begins.

No. The firm serves three clients: families and owners inside Pakistan, overseas Pakistanis with property or an inheritance held from abroad, and businesses navigating their contracts, compliance and disputes. The special court framework described on this page is specific to overseas Pakistanis' property; the wider civil, corporate and cross border practice serves all three.