Fast-track courts for overseas Pakistani to be set up in a month, says Bukhari

In line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to extend maximum support to overseas Pakistanis, the PTI government is all set to start special fast-track courts to resolve land-grabbing cases of overseas Pakistanis.

The fast-track courts would ensure settlement of the cases within a month, according to Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, special assistant to Pakistan's Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources ?Development.

"Land-grabbing is one of the biggest problem faced by Pakistanis residing abroad. Usually, such cases go to the regular courts, where the process takes years and government finds it difficult to help the victims (overseas Pakistanis)," Bukhari told Urdu News.

Main objective of the initiative is to swiftly retrieve the valuable properties of Pakistanis living abroad from mafias and land-grabbers, according the PM's aide.

"It is going to happen soon. The work is at the final stage. The fast track court in Islamabad will be taken as a pilot project and if all goes well, we have plans to open one each in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa."

He said that the Ministry of Law and Justice is likely to clear the establishment of fast -track court in the federal capital, after which it will be presented to federal cabinet and the parliament for the final approval. Pakistanis residing in the UAE and other foreign countries have raised the issue of illegal occupation of their properties time and again.

Bukhari has stated that writ of the state will be established at all costs and those involved in land-grabbing of Pakistani expatriates will be dealt according to the law. Last year, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development joined the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration in an operation to retrieve 102 kanals in Valley Zone V belonging to the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) that had been occupied since 1999.

Action against illegal agents

He further said that the government was working on various reforms for benefit of overseas Pakistanis, one of which is to take stern action against the fake and fraudulent agents who illegally send people abroad and bring bad name to the country.

"I have referred 406 such cases to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for action, while so far the licenses of 30 Pakistani agents have been revoked," he added.

Bukhari said that his ministry is working actively to help the overseas Pakistani in best possible way and regretted that previous governments did not pay attention towards it despite the fact that Imran Khan repeatedly highlighted their issues.