Pakistan

The chief justice of Lahore's High Court directed the Ministry of Food and Agriculture that no land would be sold or leased out to any foreign country without prior intimation to this court.

In view of food insecurity in Pakistan and dozens of women losing their lives just to get a few kilos of flour, there was no justification of selling agricultural land to foreigners, said Dr Azra Talat Sayeed

International experts and representatives of civil society have demanded an end to land leasing to foreign investors and countries.

Special issue on the Pakistani government's plans to dole out domestic farmlands to the Gulf countries on 99-year lease for corporate farming.

Critics say that by seeking to solve their food shortage problem through foreign farmland acquisitions, the rich emerging economies may succeed in producing enough quantity for their populations but may in the long-term be exporting their food insecurity to other nations.

The Zardari government is on trial with respects to three developments, of which the possible lease of land to Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries, because they are of historical significance for Pakistan.

A significant percentage of the manual labour force on arable land in Pakistan is female. If we lease this land to Saudi Arabia -- a country where women are not allowed to drive cars, vote, work in public places with a namehram -- to do with as it pleases -- will there still, across the proposed acreage reportedly twice the size of Hong Kong, be room for them?

The proposals for farmland acquisitions by countries such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar are at a pre-feasibility stage and no commitment has been made so far, the government of Pakistan told the High Court of Lahore

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif postponed until October 6 the hearing of a petition challenging the proposed sale or lease of millions of acres of agriculture land to foreign countries.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the government to seriously reconsider its plan to sell land to Saudi Arabia and other foreign investors, taking into account the welfare of hundreds of thousands of peasants whose livelihood will be directly affected.

The 'Food Pirates' are fast expanding their network, their reach and their control over land. And it is happening fast in our own neighbourhood, writes Devinder Sharma.

Fears have been raised of a possible increase in food insecurity in Pakistan if a deal to lease out 202,342.8 hectares of farmland to Saudi Arabia goes ahead.