Pakistan property lawyer for owners living in the United States.
For Pakistani-Americans whose house, plot or land in Pakistan is occupied by a relative, a tenant or a qabza group, or has been transferred on a forged power of attorney while they were in the US.
Short answer. An owner living in the US can usually recover occupied property in Punjab without travelling. A Lahore advocate files under a special power of attorney signed through NADRA online, at the Embassy or a consulate general, or before a US notary with a state apostille — in Punjab’s special court for overseas Pakistanis’ property, under the Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005, or by civil suit. Property outside Punjab goes to that province’s ordinary courts.
Reviewed by Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · Last reviewed 7 October 2026 · Pakistani law only. We are Pakistani advocates. We are not admitted in any US state and do not advise on US federal or state law.
Three things that change a US owner’s case.
US citizen with no Pakistani ID
Many Pakistani-Americans hold only a US passport. NADRA’s online power of attorney needs a CNIC, NICOP or POC. Without one, sign before a US notary and get the apostille from that notary’s state, or sign at the Embassy or a consulate general.
Karachi property is not a Punjab file
Punjab’s special courts cover Punjab only. For a plot in Karachi or elsewhere in Sindh, the Illegal Dispossession Act and civil suits still apply, in the ordinary courts there. We tell you at the first review which forum the property belongs in.
Remote online notarisation: check first
Several US states allow notarisation over video. Whether a Pakistani sub-registrar or society will accept a remotely notarised, apostilled power of attorney is not something to find out at the counter. For property work we confirm before you use it.
How the file runs from the United States.
You stay where you are. We appear in Lahore on your power of attorney; a court can still ask for you by video link at a particular stage.
Send the paper trail on WhatsApp
Registry deed, fard, mutation, society allotment or transfer letter, your CNIC, NICOP or POC, and any power of attorney you have ever signed. Photos are enough to start.
We check the record first
We pull the current fard or Arazi Record Centre print and the society or development authority file. If the record has already been changed, the case and the court are different.
One special power of attorney, signed in the US
Drafted for this property and this case only. Signed through NADRA online, the Embassy in Washington DC or a consulate general, or a US notary plus a state apostille.
Freeze, then file
Legal notice, a request to the registrar or society to note the dispute, and an injunction application to stop onward transfers — then the complaint or suit in the right forum.
A typical US file.
An engineer in Houston discovers that his plot in a Lahore scheme now shows a sale he never made. The transfer was done on a general power of attorney he did not sign.
He signs a fresh special power of attorney at the consulate general in Houston, limited to this dispute, and revokes any earlier document. We pull the transfer file to identify the forged instrument, apply for an injunction to stop any onward sale, file a suit for declaration and cancellation, and lodge a criminal complaint for forgery. The hearings run in his night; the order summary is on WhatsApp when he wakes up.
Illustrative example, not a client file. Timelines depend on the court, the district and the other side.
Document route from the United States.
The single most expensive mistake overseas clients make is paying for the wrong signing route.
- Notary plus apostille. Sign before a US notary, then an apostille from the Secretary of State of the state where that notary is commissioned. The Apostille Convention operates between the United States and Pakistan, so no further attestation by a Pakistani mission is legally needed — though some registrars still prefer a mission-attested document, and we check first.
- NADRA online power of attorney. For CNIC, NICOP and POC holders at poa.nadra.gov.pk: biometrics for you and two witnesses, online payment, and an online interview with the mission you select. No visit.
- In person at a mission. The Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, or the consulates general in New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. The route for anyone with no Pakistani identity document who does not want the notary route.
- Documents issued in the US — a state death certificate, a court decree — are apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued them, so a Texas certificate goes to Texas, not to the state where you now live.
What we will ask for
- Proof of title: registered sale deed, gift deed or inheritance mutation; for society plots, the allotment or transfer letter and file number.
- Current fard or Arazi Record Centre print if you have one — we can obtain it.
- Your CNIC, NICOP or POC, and passport pages showing you live in the United States.
- Every power of attorney you have signed for the property, and any revocation.
- Recent photos or video of the property and the names of the occupiers, if known.
Time difference with Lahore.
- Lahore is 10 hours ahead of New York in winter and 9 in summer; 11 and 10 ahead of Houston and Chicago; 13 and 12 ahead of Los Angeles. Pakistan does not change its clocks.
- Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, starts at 11:00 PM Eastern in winter (midnight in summer). Hearings happen in your night; the WhatsApp summary is waiting when you wake up.
- For a live call on the East Coast, book early: 7:00 AM Eastern is 5:00 PM in Lahore in winter, 4:00 PM in summer. On the West Coast, an 8:00 PM Pacific call in winter (9:00 PM in summer) is 9:00 AM the next day in Lahore.
- WhatsApp is read Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pakistan time. Fees are quoted in writing before any work starts.
Questions from the US.
Usually not. With a power of attorney signed through NADRA online, at the Embassy in Washington DC or a consulate general, or before a US notary with a state apostille, a Lahore advocate files and appears for you. The court can still require you by video link at a particular stage.
Yes. Sign before a US notary and have it apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned, or sign in person at the Embassy or a consulate general. NADRA’s online route is only for CNIC, NICOP and POC holders.
The special courts created in 2025 are a Punjab measure. Property in Sindh is pursued in the ordinary courts there, using the Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005 and civil suits for possession and cancellation.
A US attorney can advise on US law, but the case has to be filed and argued in a Pakistani court by a Pakistani advocate. We handle the Pakistani side only.
Read next.
Power of attorney from the US
Which signing route works, and the wording.
Inheritance from the US
Succession certificate and transfer to heirs.
Divorce & khula from the US
Talaq, khula, maintenance and custody.
All matters for Pakistanis in the US
The country desk: missions, time zones, every service.
Property disputes: the full guide
The law and the routes, for clients in any country.
Child adoption from the US
Court guardianship of a child in Pakistan.