The Constitution of Pakistan
Provision as to Property,
Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the Constitution and reasonable restriction imposed by law in the public interest.
                                                                                                                                Article 23
Minorities’ properties, individual as well as those belonging to communities remained vulnerable to mischief of the land grabbers in 2006. The evidence shows that Churches, temples, graveyards were easy target for the powerful and greedy to garb the properties belonging to non-Muslims. The violators included institutions and individuals.

The Protection of Communal Properties Ordinance 2002 introduced on the initiation of Col. Tresslar, a Federal Minister at that time was meant to protect the properties in the communal use from illegal transfers.Although the section 3 of the Ordinance clearly provided that the Housing schemes will be exempted from the bar when they were already approved by the Federal or Provincial governments, yet the law was used to the disadvantage of minorities. The revenue department at several places blocked bona fide transfers, especially in case of church facilitated Housing schemes. The prime example was housing schemes in Lahore.

When the revenue department refused to transfer lands to the buyers on account of the new law the only option kept in the law was a prior authorization by the Minister of Religious and Minorities Affair, which meant extra trouble, expenditures and involved bureaucratic procedural delays.

The Ordinance further provided that for transfer of such properties, an NOC will be issued by the Federal Government on the recommendation of the National Commission for Minorities. The matter became more complicated because a National Minorities for Commission was not functional providing more room for red-tapism.Though the ordinance was introduced with good intentions, draft did not have the benefit of being enriched and corrected through consultation and discussion by the competent bodies.

Eviction from the unregulated settlements, affected the religious minorities more severely especially when government provides no resettlement and rehabilitation. A discriminatory implementation has been observed also, generally as regards to regularization of the so- called illegal settlements or Katchi Abadis.

In the absence of a sound housing policy and infrastructure that provides minimal assistance of the state departments to people, they are left with no choice except to keep settling and building on government land. Therefore not merely a sympathetic but a just solution and a proactive policy is required to address the issue of encroachment. Peoples’ right to shelter needs better safeguards and proactive policy.

Three initiatives agricultural reforms and several scheme of land distribution to the landless peasants were introduced by successive government however the agricultural labourers from the minorities were ignored despite their acknowledged deprivation.

Chawk Munda - Derickabad
Fr. Derrick Masquita, a Catholic priest hailing from Karachi invited Christian land less agriculturer workers from different areas to Chawk Munda, District Muzzafargarh in 1975 to un-commanded piece of land. About 900 families accepted the challenge on his call. Situated in the heart of Thal, it was a desert of high sand dunes and barren land. The village he founded was later named after him.

After a hard struggle over the decades settlers managed to make that land fertile in about ten villages. The influential Muslims of the nearby area grabbed the land by force, police Revenue department and Administrative officials working hand and glove with them. Rai Mansab Ali one of the land grabbers is member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly and the Advisor of the Chief Minister Punjab. He managed to have the land of village 547/T.D.A. transferred to himself through claims, while the same were held bogus by the Civil Court Judge, Kot Addu in 1994. The Christian families settled in the village were evicted by instituting false case e.g. stealing the harvest which they cultivated but he claimed as his property, forcing the farmers out of the land. The authorities were approached both for the ownership of land and stopping evictions and other human rights abuses.

Various Time and again, orders were issued by the Governor of Punjab and the Board of Revenue establishing the Christian occupants, right for allotment. However the poor families continued suffer due to the negligence of the Punjab government.                NCJP Reports

Protest against land grabbers in chawk families - Muzafargarh