NAROWAL: The second meeting of the District Dispute Resolution Committee resolved nine property-related cases, out of the 20 presented before it.
The meeting presided over by Deputy Commissioner Saba Asghar Ali was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Abbas Zulqarnain, SP Haseeb Raja, assistant commissioners and DSPs from all four tehsils of the district.
In the meeting, six cases related to immovable properties from Sialkot tehsil, five each from Daska and Pasrur tehsils, and four from Sambrial tehsil were presented.
Notices had been issued to the complainants and the accused parties in all cases.
One of the complaints was filed by an elderly widow, a resident of Kingrah Road, Sialkot tehsil, who stated that her married children had occupied her house for the past 12 years.
During the hearing, her children failed to present any proof of house ownership, while the property was registered in the widow’s name, who possessed the verified ownership documents. With mutual consent of both parties, the committee decided to restore possession of the house to the elderly widow. Her children sought three days’ time to arrange an alternate residence, which the committee granted.
Another significant case involved a senior citizen from Rattian Sayedan, Sialkot. The complainant, a retired police officer, Hassan Raza, said his 18-marla house had been illegally occupied by the accused person for the last six years. A notice had been issued to the accused, but he did not appear for the hearing.
After thorough verification of ownership documents, the committee ordered that possession of the retired police officer’s house be restored to him within 24 hours.
The DC directed the Punjab Police and the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (Pera) force to conduct a joint operation to retrieve the property and and hand it over to Mr Raza.
In another case from Mohalla Dhanawali, Sambrial tehsil, a resident alleged that in 2010 he had allowed his friend, on humanitarian grounds, to build a temporary outhouse on his land, but the accused was now refusing to vacate the land.
On the other hand, the accused claimed that according to an agreement signed by both parties, the landowner would pay him the construction expenses, before seeking possession of the outhouse.
The committee directed the SDO buildings to prepare an estimate of the construction cost of the outhouse, which the landowner will have to pay to his friend. The committee ordered that possession of the outhouse be given back to the landowner.
Decisions on the 11 other cases were postponed until the next hearing for further necessary action and instructions.
Under the Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act 2025, dispute resolution committees have been established in all districts under the chairmanship of deputy commissioners.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2025