The Rights of Indigenous Peoples to their Ancestral Land in Pakistan: A Critical Analysis of the Existing Laws and Policies

Abstract

In Pakistan, the concern over the rights of the natives does exist over the lands of their forefathers, as policies and laws are usually not effective enough to protect them. Despite international obligations, which Pakistan has ratified, in several instances, land rights remain ambiguously defined or entirely unrecognized in Pakistan’s domestic law for the indigenous people and one witnesses forced evictions, land grabbing and environmental degradation as well. The main and primary aim of this research paper is to critically analyze the existing legislation includes the Land Acquisition Act 1984, Forest Act 1927 and the absence of constitutional protection to indigenous people’s land rights. Furthermore, this research paper will also look into Pakistan’s commitments to the international organizations including the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization. This study primarily relies on doctrinal legal research, focusing on the critical analysis of laws and their practical implementation. This study wants to findings the urgency of legal reforms which will also be analyzed to safeguard land rights of natives in Pakistan through an analysis of legal gaps, policy shortcomings and case studies. In conclusion, Pakistan has to meet the international standards and preserve the culture diversity of its indigenous people as they are taken by the developed countries, which demonstrate constitutional recognition, land restitution, and participatory governance are not possible but necessary to achieve justice and reconciliation.

Keywords: Indigenous People Rights, Ancestral Land, Cultural Protection, Land Acquisition, UNDRIP, Legal Framework.