SUKKUR: In a significant state-land recovery, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Sukkur has secured the restoration of government property in Khairpur valued at approximately Rs150 million, after scrutiny of nearly two-decade-old revenue entries reflecting private rights in favour of two sons of former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, according to information available with Customs Today.
The action concerns Syed Liaqat Ali Shah and Syed Asad Ali Shah, sons of the three-time former chief minister and senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader. NAB sources said the bureau’s pursuit of the matter led to examination of the underlying revenue record and ultimately to proceedings before the competent revenue authority.
A detailed 13-page order passed by Commissioner Sukkur Division Muhammad Saleem Qureshi on September 2, 2026, reviewed by Customs Today, provides documentary confirmation of the cancellation of the disputed entries.
The record shows that the land formed part of a much larger tract classified as Industrial Area/State land, while the disputed portions had subsequently come to be described through municipal records as residential plots held privately. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
Two entries, 28,800 square feet
The case centres on two revenue transactions recorded on September 5, 2007.
Entry No. 293 reflected a transaction involving 14,400 square feet from Shamsuddin son of Muhammad Punhal in favour of Syed Liaqat Ali Shah son of Syed Qaim Ali Shah. Entry No. 294 concerned another 14,400 square feet, from Muhammad Saleh son of Haji Abdul Kareem in favour of Syed Asad Ali Shah son of Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
Together, the disputed entries covered 28,800 square feet. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
The Commissioner’s examination went to the root of the title.
The larger tract measuring 258-31 acres was found recorded in the revenue record as Industrial Area/State land. The order found no lawful government grant, lease, allotment, release order, conversion order or other primary instrument demonstrating how the disputed portions had lawfully passed from the state into private ownership. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
It further held that the Municipal Committee/Corporation Khairpur had not been shown to possess lawful authority to alienate State/Industrial Area land.
Crucially, the Commissioner found that merely assigning municipal plot and block numbers — or describing the land as residential — could not transform its legal character from state land into privately owned residential property. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
19 years did not create lawful title
The order also addressed an important issue: the disputed entries had remained in the record for almost 19 years.
The Commissioner held that long-standing entries, possession, silence of officials or absence of an earlier objection could not validate a transaction where lawful alienation of state property had never been established. In substance, the passage of time could not substitute for a lawful source of title. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
Consequently, Entries Nos. 293 and 294 were cancelled to the extent that they purported to confer or recognise private rights in land forming part of the recorded Industrial Area/State land. The order directed that the relevant record be corrected and that the disputed property continue to be reflected according to its lawful state classification. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
The Assistant Commissioner Khairpur was directed to personally supervise implementation and ensure correction of the record within seven days. The order also expressly preserves the authorities’ ability to proceed separately under law if fraud, forgery, fabrication, impersonation or misuse of state land is subsequently discovered. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
The Commissioner clarified, however, that the proceedings were supervisory and revisional proceedings under Section 164 of the Sindh Land Revenue Act, 1967, and did not themselves constitute criminal proceedings or finally determine possession. CamScanner 14-09-2026 18.10.pdf
NAB Sukkur’s wider land-recovery drive
The Khairpur action adds to a substantial record of state-land recoveries by NAB Sukkur in recent years.
According to NAB’s own official performance figures, the Sukkur region recovered 631,352.26 acres of forest land valued at Rs1.103 trillion as an indirect recovery during 2023-24. NAB said the Karachi and Sukkur regions together recovered around 1.8 million acres of forest land during the period and formally reported the recoveries to the Sindh government.
NAB subsequently reported another major Sukkur recovery during the first quarter of 2025: 610 acres of National Highway Authority land worth Rs8.53 billion.
The latest Khairpur recovery is notable because the bureau’s intervention has been followed by a concrete administrative outcome: the underlying revenue entries have been cancelled by the competent revisional authority and the government’s interest in the land restored in the record.
The development comes despite significant changes to Pakistan’s accountability law in recent years that have altered the scope of NAB’s jurisdiction. Against that backdrop, recovery and protection of public assets remain an important measurable component of the watchdog’s work.
Separately, Qaim Ali Shah was among 33 accused named by NAB in a 2025 Bahria Town Karachi land reference involving 17,671.87 acres. NAB alleged a loss exceeding Rs708 billion to the exchequer. Shah challenged the proceedings and obtained interim protection from the Sindh High Court. The matter remains subject to judicial proceedings and is separate from the Khairpur land involved in the present recovery.
The Khairpur order itself does not make any criminal finding against former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah.
Customs Today was unable to immediately obtain comments from Syed Liaqat Ali Shah and Syed Asad Ali Shah. Their response will be incorporated if received.
