Qabza,mafia

Land grabbing is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, it is an age-old breach of ethics. In Pakistan, "Qabza Mafia" is a term used for an individual or a group of individuals who are involved in the practice of land grabbing, using illegal means. To counter this, a few laws against land grabbing were passed by the Pakistani government over the years. 

Its legal definition as per the Eradication of Qabza Group (Activities) Act, 1993 is:

"Qabza Group" means a person or group of persons committing an act of illegal possession of or illegal dispossession from the property. This can be done employing fraud, intimidation, duress, assault or in any manner otherwise than in due course of law.

In Pakistan, land rights are not practised thoroughly, leaving room for vulnerability in ownership of properties, and forced transfers. The legal owners often lose their lands because of the well-planned schemes of Qabza Mafias. 

Most of the time, the illegal land grabbing practice involves faking the property documents for selling and renting properties.

These forged documents do not transfer ownership to buyers, thus leaving them in a crisis. 

Forging property ownership and documents don't mix up overnight, rather it is a long process. That's because some people go to any length to ensure this illegal process meets completion. 

The process goes like this: forging the revenue record; faking property ownership documents; and then filing the lawsuit that will put the property in dispute for years.

Some land grabbers are more brazen, they occupy the property by force. 

However, it's not only these notorious Qabza Mafias.  Some people unrelated to Qabza Groups take advantage of this system, to dispossess the legal property owners.