Lahore (Zuaib Butt) Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmad, has announced sweeping reforms for Pakistan’s real estate sector aimed at eliminating fraud, curbing the controversial file culture, and ensuring greater transparency in property transactions.
Addressing a gathering at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Monday, the NAB chief said the bureau was introducing a comprehensive framework to protect investors and improve ease of doing business in the housing and real estate sectors.
He said future housing schemes would operate under a regulated system where plot ownership transfers would be monitored by designated authorities. Cash-based transactions would be discouraged, while payments would increasingly be routed through formal banking channels.
“A housing scheme will not be allowed to sell more plots than those actually available, and every plot will have a verifiable identity,” Nazir Ahmad said, adding that a one-window operation for regulatory approvals would also be introduced to reduce delays and bureaucratic hurdles.
During the visit, the NAB chairman inaugurated the NAB Executive Facilitation Office at the Lahore Chamber and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NAB and LCCI aimed at strengthening institutional cooperation.
Highlighting NAB’s recovery efforts, Nazir Ahmad said the bureau had recovered Rs15.4 trillion during the current phase of operations, compared with Rs880 billion recovered over the previous two decades. He also claimed that 4.8 million acres of agricultural land had been reclaimed.
The NAB chief said authorities had identified state land worth nearly Rs10 trillion in Karachi and were accelerating efforts to recover valuable government properties in Punjab, including assets located along Mall Road and in cantonment areas.
He said NAB preferred “quiet and effective action” over publicity and was working with regulators, developers and stakeholders to implement reforms that would establish a secure, transparent and investor-friendly real estate market.
