Balochistan govt, NAB retrieve state land in several towns

The operations were carried out in line with directives issued by NAB headquarters, with a focus on eliminating land encroachments, promoting transparent accountabi­lity and ensuring recovery of looted national assets. The initiative was undertaken on the instructions of the chief minister of Balochistan, with the active support of the provincial government, Board of Revenue and Forest Department. According to details, preliminary scrutiny of forest land in 2025 revealed that no formal government record existed for the transfer of approximately 2.8 million acres of land belonging to the Forest Department. Taking serious notice of this lapse, NAB Balochistan launched prompt and across-the-board action under the directives of the NAB chairman. During 2025 alone, more than one million acres of state land were retrieved, resulting in recoveries estimated at Rs1,370 billion — one of the largest land recovery operations in Pakistan’s history. Maintaining the momentum, operations were intensified in 2026, leading to the recovery of around 260,000 acres of land in Quetta, Sibi, Sherani, Hub, Lasbela and Gwadar, with a total estimated value of Rs414.2 billion. In Quetta, over 47,000 acres were reclaimed, translating into recoveries worth Rs363 billion. Similar operations in other districts yielded significant results: approximately 176,000 acres in Gwadar (Rs25 billion), 17,000 acres in Lasbela (Rs2 billion), 153 acres in Hub (Rs500 million), 15,000 acres in Sherani (Rs29 billion) and 2,861 acres