PM Orders High-Level Committee to Crack Down on Property File Fraud

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to take stringent measures against widespread fraud in the property sector, with Prime Minister ordering the formation of a high-level committee to examine the buying and selling of property files and plots.
According to official sources, the committee will conduct a comprehensive review of the legal status and operational mechanisms of property files, villas, plots, and apartments. The move comes amid rising concerns over fraud, tax evasion, and lack of investor protection in the real estate sector.
A government notification stated that the committee will be headed by the Minister for Law and Justice and will include the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), senior members of provincial Boards of Revenue, a Grade-21 or above representative from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory, and a representative of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD). The FBR will provide secretarial support.
The committee has been tasked with assessing the impact of the property file business on federal and provincial revenues, examining the rights of buyers and file holders, and addressing issues such as fake or duplicate files and the multiple sale of the same property.
It will also recommend amendments to relevant laws to bring property transactions under a clear and regulated legal framework, ensuring transparency, proper tax collection, and investor protection. The committee has been directed to submit its report within one month.
The decision follows revelations of a major housing scandal in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where private housing schemes allegedly sold over 90,000 plots without owning the land, collecting hundreds of billions of rupees from the public.