‘Land reforms imperative for development in the true sense’

Karachi

After partition, unlike India, Pakistan did not act on introducing land reform. Later, too, the land reforms of 1959 and 1972 failed to challenge the authority of powerful landlords, causing a surge in poverty.  Rather, the Land Reforms Act, 1977 lies in wait to be amended by the federal government, to come in line with the Islamic laws.  

This among other points was discussed by a number of civil society activists gathered in a consultation meeting with the parliamentarians organised by Sindh Land Reforms Movement, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) and The Change Organisation (TCO).

The Pakistan People’s Party’s Senator Karim Ahmed Khawaja, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s MPA Syed Hafeezuddin and two PPP women MPAs, Syed Shamim Mumtaz and Khairunisma Mughal, attended the consultation.

Also, a number of political leaders, including Yousuf Mustikhan and Usman Baloch of Awami Workers Party (AWP), Noor Nabi Rahoojo of Awami Jamhoori Party, Saifur Rehman of PTI and Lateef Mughal of PPP also spoke during the meeting. From civil society organisation, PILER director Karamat Ali, Dr. Riaz Shaikh, head of Social Sciences department of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist), Ishaq Soomro, TCO’S head, Uroosa Khatti from ActionAid Pakistan, Fazul Suleman Kazi, advocate, Talib Lashari, Aijaz Khawaja, Adam Malik and others also attended.

PPP’s Senator Khawaja said the federal government has confirmed that the Land Reforms Act passed in 1977 was still enforced but some parts of the law needed to be amended. Under the Land Reforms Act, 1977 the upper limit of land holding is 100 acres for irrigated land and 150 acres of the land cultivated on rain.

“In reply to my question in the Senate on February 18, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervaiz Rashid, had informed the upper house that certain provisions of the Land Reforms Act, 1977 were considered repugnant to injunctions of Islam by the Shariat Appellant Bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan and government is bringing the law in conformity with the injunctions of Islam”, he said. The federal government had prepared an amendment bill, which is pending before the Law and Justice Division since 2013 for revision. 

Meanwhile, Abid Hassan Manto of the Awami Workers Party Pakistan had filed a review petition before the Supreme Court against a previous decision of Shariat Appellant Bench of the apex court. The court had asked the federal and provincial governments to submit their opinions about land reforms.

The federal minister had told the Senate that the matter of land reforms is of supreme importance and would have great implications at the national level. Hence the federal government had decided to take the issue to the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and a summary in this regard was forwarded for placing the matter in the Agenda of CCI on December 18, 2013, but it was yet to be placed on CCI’s agenda.

Need for unity 

Senator Khawaja asked the legal experts to give their opinion on the legal aspects on how to implement the Land Reforms Act, 1977 in its current forms. He stressed that land reforms must be initiated in the country to provide agricultural land to the landless peasants. He dispelled the notion that powerful landlords with thousands of acres of land are part of the assemblies.

 “The Election Commission’s record of assets declarations by members of the parliament can be proved that they do not possess big chunks of lands,’’ he said.

PTI’s Hafeezuddin said after the 18th Amendment in the Constitution, the land has become a provincial subject. He suggested that a joint group of civil society and legislators should be formed for a fresh legislation on land reforms at provincial levels. Currently groups or caucuses on women empowerment and minorities’ rights are already working in Sindh Assembly and there is need to have such a caucus on Land Reforms.

He alleged that without land reforms, corrupt bureaucrats and legislators were purchasing thousands of acres of agricultural lands thus becoming new landlords and amassing political power.

An arduous task

Dr Riaz Shaikh of SZABIST pointed out that due to global climate change the agriculture will be badly affected in Pakistan. Sindh would be the worst sufferer due to climate change because it is located at the tail-end of the Indus River. The water shortage or heavy floods during the Monsoon season would affect the irrigation leading to food insecurity in Pakistan, he added.

He further said that land rights movement in rural areas cannot be successful in isolation and urban industrial workers need to join the struggle of agriculture rural workers for land reforms. Piler’s Karamat Ali said that it was believed that South Korea had followed the five-year plan of Pakistan and is now amongst developed countries, but Pakistan has not progressed economically since then. The main reasons of Korea’s development were two major initiatives — land reforms and education for all. In the 21st century Pakistan was the only country, which was yet to act on land reforms, he maintained.

He pointed out that provision of education to all is a must for progress but unfortunately, Pakistan hadn't paid any attention on improvement of literacy rate. He said the main reason for removal of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was passage of Land Reforms Act, 1977. The land reforms were halted after imposition of martial law by General Ziaul Haq. Had the land reforms been implemented, the land holding would not have been more than 30 to 35 acres per family.

He said before the One-Unit system, the federal government had declared that land reforms were a provincial subject hence East Pakistan province introduced land reforms in 1950s. Still that argument is valid so the provinces should make legislation to introduce land reforms, he added.

AWP’s Mustikhan said the Supreme Court has not taken up the review petition filed by Abid Hasan Manto for the past two years. He said in Pakistan only landlords with big landholdings can reach at the assemblies.

All the participants underlined the need for launching a public movement at grassroots levels to build a pressure on the rulers for initiation of massive land reforms in the country in end poverty and ensure food security.