Panel told: Over 1,000 acres of Railways land unlawfully seized in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel was told on Tuesday that more than a thousand acres of Pakistan Railways’ land in Balochistan have been unlawfully seized by a mix of private individuals, government bodies, and even defence departments – raising fresh questions about the state’s control over its own assets.

A sub-committee, constituted by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways and chaired by Ramesh Lal, was given a damning briefing on the rampant encroachment of Railways’ land in Balochistan by the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Railways.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Railways revealed that Pakistan Railways controls a staggering 23,772 acres of land in Balochistan, yet a concerning 1,033 acres have been gradually gobbled up by various encroachers.

He went on to outline the troubling details: 87 acres seized for commercial ventures, 427 acres taken by housing societies and individuals, 150 acres used for agriculture, 22 acres grabbed by private parties, and a substantial 347 acres appropriated by government and defence departments.

In a briefing to the sub-committee, senior Pakistan Railways officials explained that, following the Supreme Court’s orders in a suo motu case, anti-encroachment operations were launched to reclaim encroached Railway land across the entire network.

They said that a joint procedure order was issued to all divisional superintendents to facilitate the recovery of land from encroachers.

As a result of these operations, they added, Pakistan Railways in Balochistan had managed to recover 24.32 acres over three years (2023-2025), with an estimated value of Rs346 million by December 2025.

Sadiq Ali Memon, a member of the panel, expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that 48 housing schemes had encroached upon Pakistan Railways land, with most of them continuing illegal construction under stay orders from various courts.

He argued that this reflected poorly on the Railway’s legal department, accusing them of failing to properly pursue these cases and showing negligence.

Memon also questioned why the stay orders hadn’t been vacated despite the Supreme Court’s clear directive to retrieve the encroached land, raising serious concerns about the Railways Department’s performance.

Fuming with frustration, Ramesh Lal sought a detailed report from the Secretary of the Ministry of Railways on the progress of the anti-encroachment drive by the next meeting, demanding answers on the Railways’ efforts to tackle the rampant illegal housing societies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026