• Recommends bill to set up Federal Government Real Estate Management Authority
• Cites encroachments on government land

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday recommended legislation to establish a Federal Government Real Estate Management Authority, citing widespread encroachments and poor economic returns from state-owned properties.

The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Malik Ibrar Ahmad, unanimously recommended the proposed bill for passage by the assembly without amendments. It stressed the need for “prudent utilisation of government properties for optimum economic benefit”.

Ahmad said several government properties known to him had been encroached upon. Referring to railway land, he said encroachers had been evicted at the direction of the Standing Committee on Railways after he raised the issue as a member.

He noted that such lands had gained value due to urban expansion and commercial growth, but most government entities had failed to manage real estate optimally. He supported the creation of the authority.

The cabinet secretary briefed the committee that the federal government owned vast tracts of commercial, urban and rural immovable property across the country, including land and structures managed by ministries, divisions and organisations under their control.

Despite government directions, most properties were not being utilised in an economically viable ma­­nner and were subject to encroachment and illegal occupation, he said.

The secretary said several past attempts to generate optimum returns from these properties had failed. Managing real estate was a specialised function and no existing government organisation had the exclusive mandate or capacity to perform it in a way that generated valuable returns, he added.

The proposed Federal Government Real Estate Management Authority would own, manage or lease federal government properties as approved by the federal government.

Archival material bill amended

The committee also discussed “The Archival Material (Preservation and Export Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2026” and recommended it with one amendment.

It replaced the words “Secretary of the concerned Division” with “The PM” in Section 2(a).

The committee was of the view that the authority to constitute an advisory committee for deciding the preservation of archival material should rest with the prime minister.

The panel also unanimously recommended the Abandoned Properties (Management) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, without amendments for passage by the National Assembly.

The cabinet secretary said the amendments were aimed at streamlining governance, improving administrative efficiency and ensuring that the federal cabinet focused on national policy and strategic matters.

He said the Cabinet Division had undertaken a comprehensive review of relevant laws and prepared the bills to reassign powers to appropriate authorities.

The move followed a federal cabinet decision in consequence of the Supreme Court judgement in Mustafa Impex, Karachi v. Government of Pakistan, he added.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2026