The Defense Housing Authority (DHA) has spread to various cities and parts of Pakistan recently, and has become one of the most powerful housing societies of Pakistan. Nowadays, DHA is the dream for many middle-class individuals towards the end of their career and a norm for upper class families. Rich families with vast lands in rural areas aim to buy land and settle in DHA of bigger or urban cities. There is no doubt that DHA has created a successful and attractive housing model, but it involved some risks along the way.
DHA is the authority that administers the housing society known as ‘Defence’. As of now, Defence exists in eight major cities of Pakistan – Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Multan, and Quetta. Defence initially started out as a housing society for military personnel with establishments in the three big cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad but has expanded rapidly to other cities as well including Multan and Gujranwala most recently. It was envisioned to be similar to many other housing societies meant for retired servicemen of the Pakistani military but was later expanded as a housing society for everyone. Much of the land in Defence was previously agricultural land bought from farmers or villagers at a cheap price, hence making the concept highly profitable as the land was later resold at much higher prices.
The control and funding of DHA has been controversial and hotly debated, as DHA is officially a private corporation run without state support but is run or controlled by members of the military – some of whom hold a high rank. Questions over who DHA is accountable to and whether it is a private or public enterprise are asked from time to time, but DHA maintains that it is a private enterprise which provides residential facilities and support to families of martyrs, injured during combat, disabled and certain officials of the armed forces. Land in DHA is a valuable incentive and compensation provided to families of martyrs and those military personnel who suffer during combat.
Defence is highly attractive to families mainly due to its affluent nature, security, safety of property dealings and suburban concept. Defence is seen as and signifies high class living values. If one is living in or has land in Defence, that person is often regarded as of being of a higher social class – an idea many Pakistanis enjoy. Being perceived as part of a greater social class allows individuals and families to increase their social mobility, so many families begin to a rent house and live in Defence as they see it as beneficial for their social and economic standing in the long run. DHA is the ultimate destination for middle-class individuals and their families in retirement, and for upper class families leading to its affluent image.
Moreover, big cities of Pakistan have observed a gradual increase in crime over the last couple of decades and Defence, in particular, has been at the forefront of this. Although, gunpoint robberies are not common in Defence, they do seem to happen occasionally and in response DHA has ramped up its security personnel and patrolling. DHA’s mission and objective to provide a safe and secure environment makes it suitable for family life. Hence, if you visit Defence, you may see many families enjoying their time in parks or cycling enthusiasts openly cycling in remote areas.
Additionally, property fraud in Pakistan is quite common as Pakistan has not yet fully embraced capitalism and remnants of feudalism remain. Consequently, many disputes emerge over transactions of property and without significant government/legal protection or support, property fraud continues to occur surprisingly in bigger cities. Many of the times, a buyer purchases a piece of land only to find out that the seller has sold the same land to another buyer at the same time – one of many ways property fraud is committed. However, DHA has created a system whereby any form of property fraud can be avoided and if property fraud is committed, DHA ensures the buyer/seller that they will be compensated. As a result, Defence has become a safe way to buy or sell land.
Defence has also become a suburban housing concept in larger cities. Urban cities all over the globe like New York, London or Los Angeles have neighbourhoods in the suburbs that are affluent and provide housing to richer individuals or families. Suburbs are seen as peaceful and quiet living areas away from the busy, noisy and sometimes dirty way of life in the city centre. Housing in city centres are cramped and of low quality, so suburbs serve to provide higher quality, spaced, and peaceful housing. Richer individuals can afford to travel back and forth from suburbs to the city centre, so they generally reside in such areas. Defence is slowly becoming similar to this suburban concept in some cities. Furthermore, rapid urbanisation is taking place in Pakistan and many rich families are moving from rural areas to urban areas and the big cities, so DHA proves to be an attractive place for them.
Pakistani Armed Forces can use Defence as an incentive program for their servicemen. In addition to families of martyrs, injured or disabled personnel, land in Defence is gifted to servicemen who perform their duties exceptionally. In this way, Defence helps increase enrolment in the Pakistani military as potential recruits see that the military is a merit-based organisation that treats its servants well. What’s more, Defence allows the military to increase its power and sphere of influence, as most people employed in DHA are retired or ex-servicemen of the Armed Forces. Defence allows the Pakistani military to reward or provide employment for retired personnel who want to work after their service.
Since 9/11, many expatriate Pakistanis began sending money back to Pakistan and started to heavily invest in local business opportunities. DHA was one of many investment opportunities that arose during this time. This led to swift increase of land prices in DHA making it unaffordable for many individuals and families. There are fears that DHA may become too expensive leading to empty or unpopulated houses as comparisons are made to affluent housing societies elsewhere which have become deserted as a result of investors using housing to make profits. Some experts even suggest that mortgages may become common, as Defence becomes more and more unaffordable for middle class families.
Much of the land DHA has purchased to build Defence has been bought from villagers or farmers who previously owned it. Much of the area where Defence now exists – especially in Lahore – was filled with villages in the past, but over time DHA has negotiated and bought much of the land. There was some risk involved in buying the property, as DHA would need to convince the owners of the property to sell most of it and in many cases, the land was sold for a much higher price than what was expected. Additionally, chances of disputes happening were high as many landowners would sell the land but continue to live on it. Incidents have occurred whereby DHA guards or police have come in direct combat or gun fights with some landowners who refuse to vacate from the property after selling it.
Since much of the land is unprotected especially large commercial areas, some people openly set up a tent or build small houses for living in that area without permission. Vacating individuals like these is difficult, as many of them purposely reside in popular, common, or main street locations so that they are seemingly ‘protected’ from punishment. DHA cannot let such incidents become violent or big due to publicity, so they have to peacefully vacate these individuals.
Besides that, some villages or areas continue to exist in Defence. DHA has tried to buy off the land in these areas but has been unsuccessful so far. There are fears that some of these villages may become breeding grounds for criminals as they are outside the jurisdiction of DHA policing, but so far these villages have been beneficial for DHA. Habitants of these villages are workers who are multiskilled, so the villages have provided a good supply of workers for construction, gardening, hospitality, and security services. As long as habitants of these villages continue to have jobs, it is unlikely that any of them would turn to crime in Defence.
Defence is often quoted to be a ‘100-year project’ or ‘a project for the next 100 years’. That seems to be the case as DHA has objectives of not only expanding within the cities where its established, but in as many urban cities as it can. As other parts of Pakistan begin to see development, especially Balochistan, DHA may look to expand to other cities which are bustling with economic activity. But for now, DHA has lots of expanding to do in some of the big cities it is already established in. As far as legal troubles go, DHA may face upbeat political pressure which might raise questions as to whether DHA is a Government organisation or if it remains a private enterprise. However, considering the military’s vast influence and the sensitivity of the debate, it is unlikely that any Government will try to meddle with and pose question over the DHA’s validity as a private enterprise.
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