Land/Agrarian Reforms in Pakistan

Outline
1. Introduction
a. Definition
b. Significance
c. Objectives
2. History of Land Reform
a. Legacy of Mughal and British Rule
b. Brief history of major land reforms in Pakistan
i.
Ayubs era reforms
ii.
Bhuttos era reforms
iii.
Gen. Zias era reforms
3. Benefits of land reforms
a. Social benefits
i.
Sustainable food security
ii.
Poverty alleviation
iii.
End to social disparity in rural areas
iv.
A step forward to balanced society
b. Political benefits
i.
Political stability
ii.
Revolution in democracy by abolishing role of feudal over politics
iii.
Uprooting extremism and terrorism
iv.
Improved law and order situation by decreased crime ratio
v.
Increased public awareness through improved literacy rate
c. Economic Benefits
i.
Agricultural development
ii.
Industrial development through increased raw material
iii.
Increase in government revenue
iv.
Increase in exports
v.
Decrease in economic inequality
vi.
Enhance in business activities
4. Hurdles in the way of land reforms
a. Weak legislation and non-implementation
b. Unwillingness of politicians
i.
Feudal system
ii.
Lack of political consensus
c. Lack of public awareness
i.
Illiteracy
ii.
Diminished coverage by print and electronic media
iii.
Lack of interest by civil society and NGOs
d. Fatwa of Islamic clerics against land reforms
e. Role of judiciary
i.
Prolonged proceeding of cases in courts
ii.
Role of Federal Shariat court

5. Suggestions to bring new effective land reforms

a. Role of Parliament
i.
Political consensus
ii.
Changing agrarian structure through effective Legislation
iii.
Abolishing the Feudal system
b. Role
i.
ii.
iii.
c. Role
d. Role
e. Role

of Judiciary
Reforms in the powers of Federal Shariat court
Speedy justice through early verdicts of land cases
Recommendations to the parliament for effective legislation
of Media
of NGOs
of Civil Society

6. Conclusion
Land Reform or agrarian reform is premised on the need to create sustainable
livelihoods which is widely agreed to be the most effective method of alleviating poverty. In addition,
land reform combats social injustice while achieving sustained economic growth. After independence,
Pakistan has much to learn from the half-hearted attempts of the last three land reforms. First, it
is important to eliminate exemptions such as for orchards, stud farms, farm machinery and gifts.
Second, the ceiling must apply to households rather than to individuals. Third, only cultivableand not
wasteland should be resumed. Fourth, it is critical to ensure that the resumed land is actually
distributed in a timely fashion. While, eventually a large portion of the resumed land was distributed
according to Land Commission records, this took much time in happening. Fourth,the legal system will
need to be streamlined to ensure that the appeal process does not block the reforms via the courts.
Fifth, to ensure the reforms are not reversed, extension and credit support will be necessary. The
benefit of past experience should ensure success for the next round of land reforms.

Land reform, more broadly, agrarian reform, involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs
regarding land ownership. In the classical definition, land reform means the re-distribution of land
amongst landless cultivators (peasants) by expropriating land from large land owners. In short, land
reform has usually meant breaking up large land holdings and thereby changing the pattern of
ownership of land in the country to prevent concentration of land and ultimately wealth in selected
few hands. Land reforms are the only way to ensure sustainable food security, increased farm
productivity, poverty alleviation and overall socio-economic uplift of the country. Briefly, there are
three objectives of introducing land reforms in any country; First, to bring political change. Second, to
bring social change.Third, to bring economic change.

Legacy of Land reforms can be traced back to the historical perspective of how the land aristocracy
was solidified by the Muslim Mughal kings and British Raj in the subcontinent in order to cement its
control in the region and rule the canal colonies. Post-independence history of land reforms in Pakistan
can be attributed to three major land reforms.The first significant attempt at redistributive land
reforms was undertaken by the military regime of Ayub Khan in 1959. This was followed by land reforms
in 1972 and 1977 respectively by the populist government of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP). The 1977 legislation was still-born, as General Zia-ul-Haqs military coup against Bhutto in the
same year suspended its operation. Subsequently, litigants argued that redistributive land reforms were
contrary to Islamic precepts and Pakistani courts ruled that this was, indeed, the case. Currently much
of the land reform legislation remains in abeyance.