LAND REFORMS IN PAKT.ST\N 51 new landowners eagerly cultivate the land given to them. The Land Reform has also far-reaching socio-political benefits that have already made themselves felt in the agrarian community of our country. In Pakistan, land is a symbol of prestige. Conferment of proprietary rights has given the tenants a sense of dignity they had never known before in the history of the subcontinent. A whole new generation of satisfied and hard working farmers was coming into being. Even those tenants who could not become owners have a feeling of liberation due to the security of tenure, which makes them virtual owners ofthe areas in their tenancies. Observers of the rural scene know that they also now emulate the example of their more fortunate brethern who became owners under the reforms. For the first time, the fruit of political economic and social emancipation was their to taste. Consequently there developed greater political class consciousness than ever before. The Land Reforms were thus bringing about the emergence of a new Pakistan, and the dawn of a new era free from the feudal exploitation was being ushered in, when the imposition of Martial Law i^tcerrupted this process. Implementation of Land Retorms The way Land Reforms were introduced and the efforts made to get them through show the genuine concern of the Ppople^s Government for breaking large estates and freeing the rural productive forces from the yoke of (he primitive cruel system of-feudal exploitation. But the most unfortunate aspect of the problem is that the reforms were not implemented on the ground in right earnest. As such their full benefits could not reach the tillers ofthe soil. Had it been enforced zealously there would have been a strong upsurge among the masses of the rural population to deal a final blow to feudalism. The reason is obvious. The Provincial Governments, who were exclusively responsible for their implementation on the ground had been dominated by the fedual lords. The Chief Ministers and Governors had been either big landlords or Nawabs throughout the tenure of the People's Government .Quite a few ministers and legislators were found acting in gross violation ofthe Land Reforms Act. Their surplus land, concealed in various ways,was taken over by F.L.C., in exercise ofsuo moto powers, but they never surrendered the same. The contravention ofthe Land Reforms Regulation entails severe punishment including rigorous imprispnment up to seven years and forfeiture ofthe entire immovable property ofthe offender. The implementation was, therefore, not difficult if there was a will to do so. But as described above, those at the helm of affairs were themselves offenders; how could, then, other offenders be taken to task? Furthermore the Courts of Pakistan, which were vested with the powers of extra-ordinary writ jurisdiction to interfere with the decisions ofthe Land Reforms tribunals, were mostly the creation ofthe feudal and capitalist society. IN