The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the formation of district-level committees to examine the properties of local Muslims that were mortgaged to Hindu money lenders around the time of Pakistan’s creation in 1947.

The court directed these committees, led by respective deputy commissioners, to review such properties and submit a report within six months.

The SHC issued the written order on a petition filed in this regard. The order stated respective deputy commissioners would head the committee to examine such properties.

This decision follows a petition where the petitioner, claiming ancestral ownership of land in Jaipur, India, stated that their family had migrated to Pakistan after partition and sought possession of the property.

Despite approval of their claim, they were unable to regain control as the estate was occupied by others.

Before partition, mortgaging land to obtain loans was common, but high interest rates led to defaults on the payments and could not get back the land.

Many Muslims lost their lands to Hindu money lenders (banyas), and civil courts ordered the transfer of the properties to the lenders.

According to the additional advocate general’s statement, up to 40 percent of Sindh’s agricultural land was mortgaged to Hindus before 1947.

After the partition, properties left by Hindus were either sold or distributed under evacuee Waqf laws, often being allocated to Muslims who migrated from India.

However, the court noted that properties mortgaged before partition were not adequately addressed in settlement schemes for migrants.

The court has directed the Sindh government to investigate these mortgaged properties, and the Sindh Board of Revenue has been tasked with conducting a thorough review of ownership titles.

The court also asked whether these properties could be returned to their original owners under the Sindh Land Alienation Act.

Meanwhile, the committees are expected to submit their findings within six months.

Source: The Express Tribune