KARACHI: In a major legal development, the Sindh High Court has upheld the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) decision to cancel allegedly illegal allotments of approximately 800 acres of state land in Karachi, declaring the transfers void ab initio.
The court dismissed petitions filed by the alleged beneficiaries of the land, ruling that the allotments lacked lawful basis and could not be sustained under the law.
According to court records and NAB officials, the disputed land was originally part of a large tract of urban state property in Karachi that was allegedly acquired in the early 1990s through fraudulent “evacuee” claims and forged documentation. The land was later transferred into private ownership and reportedly sold for significant financial gain.
Authorities stated that portions of the land include key water infrastructure serving Karachi as well as areas designated for public parks and other civic use.
The National Accountability Bureau, working in coordination with the Sindh Board of Revenue, initiated corrective action that led to the cancellation of the disputed revenue entries and restoration of the land to state control.
The petitioners had challenged the cancellations, arguing that they were not given due process and claimed to be bona fide purchasers. However, the court rejected these arguments, holding that any transaction based on an illegal foundation carries no legal validity.
The court further observed that if the petitioners had been misled in their purchase, their remedy lies against the original sellers rather than the state.
The verdict reinforces the principle that illegally acquired public land cannot be protected under subsequent transactions, and affirmed the legality of NAB’s actions.
A NAB spokesperson welcomed the decision, stating that state land acquired through fraud would continue to be identified and recovered.
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“These are public assets, including water supply lines and parks, which belong to the citizens,” the spokesperson said. “Any land obtained through fraud will be traced and returned to the state.”
