The fard malkiat - the record of rights extract, also called fard jamabandi - is the single most important document in a Pakistani land transaction. It is also routinely handed to a buyer, glanced at for the seller's name, and put away. Reading the rest of it is what prevents the two or three catastrophes that recur in property practice.
What the fard is
The record of rights is maintained under the Land Revenue Act, 1967. It is revised periodically - traditionally every four years - and the fard is a certified extract from it for a particular holding at a particular date. In Punjab it is issued by the Arazi Record Centre and is computerised; in other provinces it may still come from the Patwari's register.
It is a fiscal record maintained for revenue purposes. It raises a presumption that the entries are correct, but it does not by itself confer title. That distinction matters when something on it looks wrong.
The columns, and what each one is telling you
Khewat number. The ownership holding number. All the land owned by the same set of owners in the same shares sits under one khewat. If your seller's khewat contains several other names, you are dealing with joint property.
Khatooni number. The cultivation holding - who is actually working or occupying the land. A khatooni in a different name from the khewat means someone else is in possession, and that is the single most important warning the document gives.
Khasra number. The individual survey plot number. Land is identified by khasra, and the khasra numbers on the fard must match the ones on the sale agreement and on the site you were shown.
Rakba (area). Recorded in kanal and marla, or in acres. Check it against what is being sold. Selling more than the seller owns is common where a joint holding has never been partitioned.
Share (hissa). Where the khewat has multiple owners, this fraction is what your seller actually owns. A seller with a one-sixth share cannot sell you a specific identified plot unless the holding has been partitioned - he can only sell his undivided share. Buyers regularly pay for a marked plot and receive an undivided fraction of a larger holding.
Column of encumbrances. Mortgages, leases, court injunctions, attachments. This is the column people skip. A mortgage recorded here means a bank has a charge on the land.
Intiqal (mutation) numbers. The chain of transfers that produced the current entry. Reading backwards through them is how you check the chain of title.
The checks that matter
- Is the seller's name on the khewat, spelled as on his CNIC? Variations in father's name or spelling are how impersonation works.
- Does the khatooni show someone else in possession? If so, find out who and why before paying anything.
- Is the share a fraction? If yes, the land is joint and undivided. Ask whether partition has been effected, and if not, understand that you are buying a share, not a plot.
- Is anything recorded in the encumbrance column? A mortgage must be redeemed and the entry removed before the sale.
- Do the khasra numbers match the agreement, the site, and any prior deed?
- Is the fard current? Obtain a fresh one on the day of payment. A fard from three months ago tells you nothing about what happened last week.
Documents to read alongside it
- Register Haqdaran Zamin - the full record of rights, of which the fard is an extract
- The mutation register entries for the transfers in the chain
- The aks shajra - the map showing the khasra boundaries, to confirm the plot on the ground is the plot on paper
- The non-encumbrance certificate from the Sub-Registrar, which covers registered instruments the revenue record may not show
What the fard will not tell you
The fard covers revenue-recorded land. It will not disclose:
- An unregistered agreement to sell made by your seller to someone else
- A pending civil suit unless an injunction has been recorded
- Whether the land is subject to acquisition proceedings or falls in a planned road or scheme
- Building or zoning restrictions imposed by a development authority
For those, you need a search at the Sub-Registrar's office, a search of the local courts, and an enquiry with the relevant development authority. In urban schemes, the society or authority record replaces the revenue record entirely and must be verified with the authority directly, not from a file the seller produces.
Online verification
Punjab's land record is searchable online and by SMS through the Punjab Land Records Authority; Sindh operates a comparable system in the districts it has computerised. Verify independently from the official portal rather than relying on a printout supplied by the seller.
This article explains the general structure of the record of rights in Pakistan. Terminology and format vary by province. It is not advice on any specific property; have the record examined by an advocate before paying.