LHC expands scope of property courts for overseas Pakistanis

In a judgement authored by Justice Anwaar Hussain, the court decided multiple petitions related to the scope of jurisdiction under the Punjab Establishment of Special Courts (Overseas Pakistanis Property) Act, 2025. The matter reached the high court after special courts declined to hear several cases — including suits relating to specific performance, cancellation of transactions and inheritance claims — on the grounds that such disputes fell outside their limited mandate. These matters were subsequently referred back to civil courts, prompting affected litigants, including overseas Pakistanis, to challenge the interpretation before the LHC. In one petition, an overseas Pakistani residing in Kuwait argued that the special court had refused to entertain his suit seeking a declaration and specific performance against a housing society in Lahore. He said the matter was transferred to a civil court. In another petition, an overseas Pakistani stated that the special court refused to exercise jurisdiction in a dispute related to the cancellation of a general power of attorney. Justice Hussain held that the lower courts had misinterpreted the law by adopting an unduly restrictive reading of the Act’s preamble. “The expressions ‘matters connected therewith’ and ‘incidental thereto’ are of wide import,” the judge noted, adding that the law was intended to cover the entire spectrum of disputes relating to immovable property involving overseas Pakistanis. The judge ruled that special courts are not limited to disputes involving direct ownership or possession but also extend to matters relating to specific performa