Revenue cases: Expats’ cases to be decided in 3 hearings

Officials told to submit monthly reports to the Board of Revenue

LAHORE: The Punjab government has directed its revenue officers to decide all cases filed by overseas Pakistanis within three hearings. The officials have been ordered to submit reports on monthly basis to the Board of Revenue (BoR).

This was decided on Wednesday in a meeting held between Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti and BoR Senior Member Jawwad Rafique Malik. OPC Director-General Hassan Iqbal and Revenue Director Ishrat Niazi among other officers were also present.

Many Pakistanis living abroad face problems related to property disputes. Some complain their properties are taken over by others while some file cases when their properties are unlawfully sold in their absence. It has been observed that revenue officers do not prioritise such cases, delaying them for long periods.

OPC Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti shared the concerns of the Pakistani expatriate community about the unsatisfactory performance of revenue officers in certain districts.

BoR’s Jawwad issued instructions that field officers must submit monthly reports on the decisions taken on cases submitted by overseas Pakistanis to the BoR to ascertain the total number of decided cases every month.

The meeting also reviewed a few pending cases of overseas Pakistanis in revenue courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2016.