Supreme Court of Pakistan upholds widow's property rights

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled in favor of a widow, Nawab Bibi, regarding property rights stemming from the 1947 Partition. The court held that the land allotted to her in Pakistan was her own right as a displaced person and was not owned by her deceased husband, Abdul Karim.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail authored the judgment, noting that Nawab Bibi had personally applied for land allotment under the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958, to secure permanent settlement after migrating from India. Because the allotment was made to her individually, the court ruled that her husband’s heirs had no legal standing to challenge her 1963 gift of the property to her daughter, Fazal Bibi. This decision sets aside previous rulings from lower courts and the Lahore High Court that had upheld the heirs' challenges.