PAPER TRAILS AND POWER PLAYS: THE LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ROOTS OF LAND LITIGATION PROLIFERATION IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The primary aim of current study is to investigate the legal and administrative factor of land litigation cases in Pakistan. Senior and junior land revenue officers and judicial officer involved in land litigation are the data sources. The qualitative content analysis identified ten major themes; namely, corruption, complex legal framework, lengthy judicial processes, political interference, resistance to land reforms, bureaucratic delays, lack of legal awareness, conflicting land titles, inconsistent application of land laws, efficient land record system, lack of digitization, inheritance and succession laws, overlapping jurisdictions, inadequate land surveys and demarcations, and weak dispute resolution mechanisms as responsible for land dispute in the context of legal and administrative context. These findings can fill the gap in understanding the link between the legal and administrative issues and will be useful to formalize the policies to minimize the land litigation cases that arise due to legal and administrative issues.