Expats to Gain Online Access to Land Records Next Month, Starting in Saudi Arabia

Next month, foreigners will be able to access online land records; technical and operational aspects have been finalized; Services to be provided by foreign missions overseas; Saudi Arabia will lead the way initially, then other states

ISLAMABAD: In an effort to draw in foreign investment, the government has finalized the technical and operational aspects for offering digital land record services to Pakistanis living abroad. The initiative will formally commence next month, initially in Saudi Arabia.

In the next months, this program will spread to other nations with sizable Pakistani diasporas, such the UAE, US, and UK, and then on to Spain, Italy, Canada, and so on.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will introduce the program, which will be initially launched in tandem by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis (MOP) and Punjab Land Revenue Authority (PLRA) with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an effort to draw in investments and remittances from Pakistanis living overseas.

A working paper shared with the Prime Minister’s Office proposed that the following land record services be made available through the offices of community welfare attaches in Pakistani foreign missions in countries where there is a significant Pakistani diaspora, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, in order to facilitate the use of information technology by Pakistanis living abroad.

The services comprised attestation of mutation and deed registration through the e-registration system, as well as the issuance of copies of the record of rights (commonly known as Fard included for transactional reasons), e-Girdawari, and e-registered deed.

Over the course of the weekend, a meeting of stakeholders led by Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Arshad Mehmood finalized the technical and financial details, including process flows, related devices, fee and tax structure, etc. The Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis, represented by Chaudhry Salik Hussain, partially participated in the meeting. Mr. Hussain emphasized that the first phase after the launch from Saudi Arabia should include the US, Canada, England, Spain, and Italy.

According to the terms of the deal, the MOP would receive 30% of the service charges, with the remaining 70% going to the PLRA, which would provide the majority of the technical arrangements, including those in foreign missions. The agreement stipulated that copies of the Fard, mutation, deed, or Girdawari would be made available to Pakistanis living abroad at foreign missions for an extra Rs10,000 each, on top of the current government fees and taxes. Similarly, there will be a fee of Rs 20,000 for each entry, attestation of mutations, and deed registration.

In addition to expressing satisfaction with the readiness of pertinent authorities, the meeting finalized the service-level agreement (SLA) among the stakeholders, encompassing all facets of the transactions, including geographic, operational, legal, financial settlement, and associated concerns.

It was mentioned that PLRA was already well-established both legally and technically, having been in the industry for a while; the only difficulty would be growing the embassy’s node within the value chain. Through 151 Arazi record centers, 59 Qanoon-i-Arazi record centers, and 20 mobile Arazi record centers throughout Punjab, PLRA offers land record services. In addition to restricted services via Nadra centers, E-Khidmat Marakaz, and banks via the Centralized Land Record Management Information System (CLRMIS), these services are also offered to citizens at Dehi Marakaz Maals.

In addition to making electronic copies of registered deeds available through the PULSE portal for registered deeds, as is now the case in Punjab, the CLRMIS service would be provided for operational purposes to Pakistani missions overseas.

According to the working paper, Pakistanis living abroad currently deal with a number of issues pertaining to land management, such as the buying and selling of land, including fraud, impersonation, and adverse possession. They incur heavy financial costs and endure the inconvenience of having to go to Pakistan in order to complete land-related activities. Power of attorney and other non-physical visitation alternatives are dangerous and can result in fraud, which causes significant losses and adds to the psychological and financial stress on Pakistanis living abroad.

The services would support a range of scenarios, including those in which there are numerous buyers or sellers, one or more of whom is overseas, or in which both the buyer and seller are abroad.