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| 5% landlords own 64% of agricultural land |
The cultivable land remained concentrated in few hands.
5 percent landlords owns 64 percent of farm land while 50.8 percent rural house hold are landless.
The largest land holdings prevails in the regions of southern Punjab, Balochistan, and rural Sindh. For example there are 74 sardars (land lords) in Baluchistan famous for their power and land holdings.
Some of the glimpses of large landholding can be seen as below.
During the nineties Ghulam Muhammad Mehr, died in 1995, was biggest landlord in Pakistan. He owned 100,000 acres of agricultural land at that time.
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi another landlord owned 80,000 acres of land.
According to recent declaration by Pakistani senator Mir Israrullah Khan Zehri, he owns 53,000 acres of agricultural land. The declaration states that this land is inherited land and needs to be distributed.
The family of Hina Rabbani Khar owns more than 1500 acres of land.
This sort of land holdings on one side and landlessness on other side is giving rise to disparity between rich and poor. Fair distribution of land is necessary for poverty alleviation in rural ares. Government of Field Marshal Ayyub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to make land reforms. But all three reforms failed to bring meaningful change. The reforms introduced ceiling on land holding by individuals.
When land reforms imposed ceiling on individual's land ownership, many large landowners transferred their land in the name of other family members. Owing to existence of large joint families, land reforms are bound to fail. So a workable solution can be distributing Governmental lands to poor peasants.
Distributing public land in small lots will improve productivity. Small farms produce high per acre yield than produced by farms above 5 acres. The yield per acre will increase if lands are distributed to peasants.
related link
Ghulam Muhammad Meh
Mir Israrullah Khan Zehri
Power of land
Balochistan's 74 sardaras
Hina Rabbani Khar's family land
It is so much embarrassing for me.Pakistan is not a democratic country.one and only solution is to demolish this land Lord system otherwise Pakistan will not be a prosperous country never.
ReplyDeletedear Asad, there is no better way to do that than to invest in education, developing infrastructure and growing industrial base of the country. Democracy itself needs strong middle class for its functioning.
Deletewe love our Pakistan
Deletethere should be a reasonable limit for landlords to hold a land.like in india Pakistan should also need land reforms.the land from absentee landlords who dont even know how much and where is their land like GM mehr,GM Jatoi,Butto family, zardari family,etc. should be discouraged and distributed among the poor peasants and landless people.Untill that time when some resonable reforms will be introduced atleast agriculture tex should be imposed on landholders.PAKISTAN zindabad.
ReplyDeleteWhy limitation of land only on landlords. Why not also on industrialists and businessmen on ownership of assets
ReplyDeleteAre u joking or serious ? When u own the land people live own along with 1000 of acres around them u own their life’s. You own where they live, you decide if schools, hospitals … can be opened there, you decide if there is a police station as u own the land…
DeleteThat is not the case when u own industries, factories, people working there do t live there, they have access to schools, hospitals …..
you are incorrect in the name of the largest landowners.the largest single land owner at the time of partition in Punjab was Begum shah nawaz.she was the only woman member of Pakistan first constituent assembly and the only woman ever to serve on the all india muslim league council. she was also the sole women representative of the muslim women of india at the round table conference.she owned 1000 squares of land or 25000 acres at the time of partition .This is the exact figure from the Thal development Authority land records compiled at the time of partition ..her vast wealth was inherited from both her husband and father sir Mohammad Shafi whose income from his law practice in the 1930s we reputed to be 3000 pounds a month.he was probably the highest paid lawyer in india and was elected as president of all india muslim league before his sudden death in 1932.. people researching the largest land owning families should do their own research so that the facts are revealed to them..why i mentioned Punjab is because Punjab was and has the most fertile land in Pakistan .also Sindh has huge land holdings, most of the land is not fertile..
ReplyDeleteGhulam Muhammad Mehr was largest land lord in 1990s.
DeleteGhullam Mutafa Jatoi Was One in One Largest Land Lord of Pakistan Now his Land Increase 110000 Acer's
ReplyDeleteGhulam Mustafa jatoi total land is 80000 acres.
ReplyDelete