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Special Courts for Overseas Pakistani:

The government of Punjab has taken the initiative to establish special courts for overseas Pakistanis for overseas Pakistani property disputes. If a Pakistani is not in Pakistan and has land or assets in Pakistan, he can file his case through a lawyer in Pakistan in these special courts for overseas Pakistanis. This court is quick as compared to the other courts in Pakistan so that the overseas Pakistani property dispute can be quickly resolved. If you have any issue related to your property in Pakistan, now you can hire a lawyer and file the case directly in this court, and you get quick relief. The law aims to finalize the cases in this court in just 90 days. The key features of this case allow the court to finalize the cases quickly.

Ø  Overseas Pakistani Property Dispute:

The overseas Pakistani property dispute in the special courts for overseas Pakistanis can be finalized in 90 days. Below are some of the key features of this law.

1. i) Notices can be sent through this court physically and electronically. Most of the time consumed in the courts is due to sending of the notices to the other party. This law has adopted the mode of electronic means to send the notices to the defendant, which saves both time and money. Now the court can send notices through WhatsApp or text messages also.
2. ii) The defendant has to file a leave to defend in this court through his attorney in Pakistan. He has to convince the court that he has sufficient material to contest this case. Only if he manages to convince the court on his leave to defend will he be allowed to contest the case.

iii) According to this law, the court will only give up to a maximum of two chances to the defendant to produce his evidence. Even the affidavit by the witness will be considered as an examination in chief of the witness.

1. iv) The appeal against the orders of the court directly lies to the high court, and this appeal should be filed within 15 days only through a law firm in Pakistan by the defendant.

Ø  COURTS FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANI:

Ø  WHO WILL BE CONSIDERED AS OVERSEAS PAKISTANI: The question here in this law is who will be considered as overseas Pakistani. The law says that a Pakistani citizen who has a NICOP card or a Pakistani origin card or is a member of an overseas Pakistani foundation and has resided abroad for more than 182 days of a tax year will be considered an overseas Pakistani. If a person is abroad just on vacation or on a tourist visa, that does not make him an overseas Pakistani.

Ø  POWERS OF SPECIAL JUDGE: According to this law, the special judge has great power and enjoys all the powers of a civil judge. He has all the power to handle the overseas Pakistani property dispute in Pakistan. The special courts for overseas Pakistanis are made to safeguard the interests of the overseas Pakistanis. The courts for overseas Pakistanis provide quick relief to the petitioners as compared to the general civil cases.