Pagri system: Traditional rent arrangements and legal standing

Pagri system due to its archaic nature maybe an anachronism but is still a part of the way a large number of properties and shops are let out. Traditionally there are two ways in which property is made available on rent:
1. Deposit: An initial amount is given at the outset that acts as security and then an amount for rent is decided. In the event that the tenant vacates the property, the landlord may subtract the outstanding amount from the deposit for any damages and outstanding payments.
2. Advanced: Rent is paid in advance for a particular period of time and till that time tenancy is guaranteed.
However, the traditionally deployed pagri mechanism is unique in its ability to sit within the renting mechanism while at the same time giving the semblance of ownership. But this very distinction about the pagri system is cause for controversy.
In legal terms, the pagri system is: 'a lease right holder transferring lease rights to another with a premium.' Suppose there are two parties: A is the landlord and B is the tenant/pagri purchaser. A has a property that B is interested in acquiring. According to the pagri system, B would give A, a principle amount - the pagri. In return for this amount, A would charge an extremely nominal rent from B.
This arrangement gives rise to various legal questions. Is B's payment of pagri tantamount to ownership? Has A been extinguished of all his interest in the land except for getting the nominal rent? Can B sell the land to someone else? Can A evict B out of the pagri let property?
What is interesting about the pagri system is that it is not recognised by law in Pakistan, which means that pagri as a concept of law has no legal standing whatsoever, in terms of benefiting those within its realm. Simply put, under the eyes of law falls within the ambit of your typical landlord-tenant relationship; any semblance of ownership is just a semblance, a mere façade, nothing substantial.
Speaking to BR Research, a legal expert explained that 'the payment of the pagri at best can be considered a form of an advanced payment.' Being tantamount to ownership actually espouses permanence, which under the pagri system is not there because as far as the law of the land is concerned, the pagri system has no valid existence.
The landlord has not extinguished his rights in the property but in actuality has given his right to charge the rent payment at the market price. This is merely a matter of contract, where the consideration has been decided at the outset and is of a continuous nature, where the consideration is the pagri amount and a recurrent nominal rent payment.
The question of selling your land to someone else if you have a pagri right over it is something which is relatively straightforward. It can't be done. The pagri right can be sold, only; and that too with the permission of the landlord.
The final nail in the coffin set out by any claim of ownership which the tenant might impose through his pagri right was given by Chief Justice of Sindh Justice Sabeeh-uddin. Upon answering the question of the landlord's right to evict the tenant he said: 'Mere statement of the landlord to effect that the tenant leaves the premises in question for his personal need would be sufficient to get the tenant evicted.' Pagri will not act to disentitle the landlord of his statutory right to get the land evicted.
Yet all is not lost for the tenant as the pagri amount would be returned in case any course of action similar to that described above is taken by the landlord. The expert contended that "pagri system becoming obsolete is primarily because of the hike in property prices. The prices have escalated to the extent and provide such a wide ambit for investment that pagri given land would be an imprudent venture. It is due to this that a lot of people are considering to return the original nominal pagri amount and repossess the land."
In the light of the law it can be said that pagri as a system doesn't possess any vitality or viability. It is like any other landlord-tenant relationship and is governed by the exact rent laws which govern the general course of things. Pagri might be a part of our sphere because of history, but its effacing value and its non-recognition by the judicial system is something worth commending.
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