Power of Attorney in Pakistan: How Overseas Owners Can Prevent Property Sale Risks

The practical problem

A document of convenience can become a source of loss

People living outside Pakistan often appoint a relative or trusted acquaintance to manage property at home. Later, the same power of attorney can become the centre of a dispute. The difficulty usually begins with a short document containing broad expressions such as “to sell,” “to transfer” or “to do all acts necessary,” without stating who may buy, how the price will be approved, where the money must be paid or whether the owner must consent before a binding agreement is signed.

In legal terms, a power of attorney is an instrument through which one person, the principal, authorises another, the agent or attorney, to act on the principal's behalf. The relationship is governed by the authority actually granted, together with powers that the law may treat as necessary or ordinarily incidental to carrying out that authority.

The safest time to control the risk is before execution. Once a properly authenticated or registered instrument has been acted upon and third-party rights have arisen, a bare statement that “I did not intend this sale” may not be enough.

A 2026 Supreme Court ruling

What happened in Saad Younis v. Ghulam Bari?

In Saad Younis and others v. Ghulam Bari and others, Civil Appeals Nos. 435-L and 436-L of 2012, decided on 30 July 2026, the Supreme Court considered a dispute concerning 100 kanals and 4 marlas of agricultural land in Rahim Yar Khan. A registered power of attorney dated 31 August 1977 authorised Ahmad Din to deal with and sell the property. Acting under that authority, he entered into an agreement to sell dated 20 January 1979.

The Lahore High Court had concluded that the power of attorney was not properly proved and, even if it existed, did not expressly authorise an agreement to sell. The Supreme Court disagreed on both points. It restored the concurrent decisions of the trial and first appellate courts and upheld the decree for specific performance.

Two aspects of the judgment are especially important for an overseas property owner: the evidentiary strength of a duly authenticated and registered power of attorney, and the breadth of the authority that may follow from an express power to sell.

Proof and legal presumption

Registration strengthens proof, but scope still matters

Article 95 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 requires a court to presume due execution and authentication where a document purports to be a power of attorney executed before and authenticated by a competent authority identified in the Article. In the case before the Supreme Court, the document was registered, came from proper custody and was supported by the petition writer, the Sub-Registrar, the attorney and surrounding documentary evidence.

The principal had also executed a formal deed revoking that very power of attorney on 21 February 1979. The Court treated this later conduct as strong corroboration that the authority had existed. A party alleging fraud must rebut the presumption attached to such a document through satisfactory evidence; suspicion or an isolated inconsistency may not be sufficient.

Registration or authentication does not give an agent unlimited legal power, and it does not make fraud lawful. Its practical significance is that it can make execution and authenticity substantially harder to deny. That is why the words defining the agent's authority deserve the same attention as the execution formalities.

Implied and incidental authority

A power “to sell” may extend to an agreement to sell

Sections 188 and 189 of the Contract Act, 1872 recognise that an agent authorised to perform an act may also do lawful acts necessary or ordinarily incidental to completing it. Applying that principle, the Supreme Court held that authority to sell immovable property ordinarily includes authority to negotiate the terms and execute the antecedent agreement to sell, unless the power of attorney itself imposes a restriction.

The reasoning is practical: a final sale deed normally follows an earlier bargain defining the buyer, price and obligations. Permitting the agent to execute the final conveyance while denying authority to make the agreement leading to it would make the power commercially unworkable.

This does not mean that every act of every attorney is immune from challenge. It means that when a principal grants a broad power to sell and leaves the method unrestricted, ordinary steps required to complete that sale may fall within the authority. A principal who wants personal approval of the buyer, price or agreement must say so expressly.

Drafting safeguards

Eight protections to include before signing

1. 01

   Identify the property exactly

   Use the complete title, plot, survey, khasra, khewat, khatooni, allotment or society particulars. Avoid language that silently extends the authority to every property owned by the principal.

2. 02

   Define the permitted transaction

   State whether the agent may only manage, obtain records, negotiate, sign an agreement to sell, execute a sale deed, present documents for registration, deliver possession or perform a limited combination of those acts.

3. 03

   Require approval of the buyer and terms

   If a sale is contemplated, require the agent to send the proposed buyer’s identity, agreed price, payment schedule and draft agreement to the principal and obtain express written approval before signing anything binding.

4. 04

   Control price and payment

   Set a minimum price or an objective valuation mechanism. Direct all sale proceeds to a named bank account and state whether the agent may receive earnest money, cash, cheques or possession-related payments.

5. 05

   Prohibit self-dealing and substitution

   Expressly prohibit a transfer to the agent, the agent’s relatives or associated persons unless separately approved. State whether the agent may appoint a substitute or sub-agent.

6. 06

   Set an expiry date and reporting duties

   Use the shortest workable duration. Require prompt copies of every offer, receipt, agreement, application and registered instrument, together with periodic written status reports.

7. 07

   Specify notice and approval channels

   Record the principal’s email, postal address and another verifiable communication method. Define when approval is effective and make clear that silence does not amount to consent.

8. 08

   Plan for revocation before a dispute

   State how the authority may be revoked and where notice must be delivered. If revocation becomes necessary, obtain advice promptly on notification to the agent, registration and revenue authorities, housing society and any known third party.

Illustrative protection

Do not leave the approval requirement implied

Where the owner wants the agent to find a buyer but not bind the owner independently, the instrument may use a restriction along the following lines:

The Attorney may identify and negotiate with prospective purchasers but shall not accept earnest money, execute an agreement to sell, transfer possession, execute or present a sale deed, or otherwise create any third-party interest unless the Principal has first given express written approval of the purchaser, price, payment terms and final transaction document through the communication addresses stated in this instrument. Silence or non-response shall not constitute approval.

This is an illustration, not a universal clause. The final wording should match the property, location, intended acts, registration process and the principal's circumstances. A restriction that is vague, internally inconsistent or incompatible with the transaction may create a different dispute rather than prevent one.

Ongoing protection

Signing is not the end of the owner's responsibility

Keep the final authenticated and registered instrument, title papers and identity records in secure custody. Obtain a complete copy of every document the agent signs or submits. Monitor land, revenue, registration and housing-society records at reasonable intervals, and investigate immediately if an unknown purchaser, mutation, construction activity or demand for original documents appears.

If the authority is no longer required, do not assume that a private message to the agent resolves every issue. Revocation should be documented and communicated through legally appropriate channels. Advice should be obtained on notice to relevant authorities and third parties, particularly where the agent has already negotiated, received money or signed an agreement. Revocation after a binding act may not automatically undo rights already created.

Overseas Pakistanis may use the NADRA digital power-of-attorney service where eligible, while manual consular routes remain available. Execution, attestation, stamping, registration and local acceptance requirements should be confirmed for the relevant jurisdiction and intended transaction.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from overseas property owners

If the power of attorney only says “sell,” can the agent sign an agreement to sell?

The Supreme Court's 2026 judgment indicates that an express authority to sell ordinarily includes the incidental authority to negotiate and sign the preceding agreement to sell, unless the instrument restricts that power.

Does registration prevent misuse?

No. Registration and proper authentication strengthen the document's evidentiary standing; they do not replace careful drafting, monitoring or transaction controls.

Is a general power of attorney safer because the agent is a relative?

Family trust may explain the appointment, but it does not narrow the legal wording. The document should impose the same clear limits, approvals and accounting duties that would be required from any other agent.

Can the principal revoke the power after an agreement has been signed?

Revocation may end future authority, subject to the instrument and applicable law, but it may not undo a binding transaction already made within the agent's authority. The timing, notice and any third-party rights require case-specific legal assessment.

What is the safest first step before signing?

Prepare a written transaction plan: identify the property, list every act the agent genuinely needs to perform, decide which decisions remain with the principal, and then draft the instrument around those limits.

Official sources

Primary materials for further review

• Saad Younis and others v. Ghulam Bari and others — Supreme Court of Pakistan, C.A. Nos. 435-L and 436-L of 2012
• Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 — Pakistan Code
• Contract Act, 1872 — Pakistan Code
• Registration Act, 1908 — Pakistan Code
• Power of attorney and document attestation — Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Digital Power of Attorney — NADRA

Sources were checked on 18 August 2026. Procedures and statutory requirements may subsequently change.