The Working Library
Recent Legislation Tracker.
The instruments that matter to companies and their counsel — statuses maintained, each with the firm's working note. The tracker's credibility is its accuracy; every status carries an as-of date.
| Instrument | Year | Status | Note | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Nation Pakistan Act, 2025 | 2025 | In force | Creates the National Digital Commission and the Pakistan Digital Authority to drive a national digital masterplan covering digital identity, digital economy and digital government. | Our analysis |
| Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025 | 2025 | In force | Amends PECA 2016 to criminalise the intentional spread of false information online and to create a new social-media regulator, complaint council, tribunals and investigation agency. | Our analysis |
| Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework, 2025 | 2025 | In force | Establishes the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers, ending years of unregulated status for crypto activity in Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2024 | 2024 | Amended | Restructured judicial appointments, fixed the Chief Justice's tenure and created constitutional benches — an architecture partly reworked by the Twenty-Seventh Amendment in late 2025. | Our analysis |
| National Accountability (Amendment) Acts, 2022–24 | 2024 | In force | A series of amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 that narrowed NAB's jurisdiction, set a Rs 500 million threshold and reworked arrest, bail, remand and trial procedure. | Our analysis |
| Punjab Defamation Act, 2024 | 2024 | In force | Replaces the 2002 defamation law in Punjab with a civil tribunal regime, preliminary damages awards without proof of actual loss, and a special forum for constitutional office-holders. | Our analysis |
| Online Content Rules under PECA (Removal & Blocking Rules lineage) | 2021 | In force | Subordinate rules under section 37 of PECA 2016 governing the removal and blocking of online content and imposing registration and compliance duties on social media companies. | Our analysis |
| Special Technology Zones Authority Act, 2021 | 2021 | In force | Establishes the Special Technology Zones Authority and a regime of designated technology zones carrying ten-year tax and customs incentives for zone developers and zone enterprises. | Our analysis |
| SBP AML/CFT & Fit-and-Proper Frameworks | 2020 | In force | The State Bank's AML/CFT/CPF Regulations and Fit and Proper Test criteria — customer due diligence, sanctions screening and reporting duties for banks, and vetting of their sponsors, directors and senior management. | Our analysis |
| Listed Companies (Code of Corporate Governance) Regulations | 2019 | In force | SECP regulations setting board composition, committee and disclosure requirements for companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, on a mandatory plus comply-or-explain basis. | Our analysis |
| Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 | 2017 | In force | Prohibits holding property in another person's name to conceal beneficial ownership, with confiscation of the property and imprisonment as consequences. | Our analysis |
| Companies Act, 2017 | 2017 | Amended | The principal statute governing incorporation, management and regulation of companies in Pakistan, administered by the SECP; it replaced the Companies Ordinance, 1984. | Our analysis |
| Elections Act, 2017 | 2017 | Amended | The consolidated federal election law — electoral rolls, delimitation, conduct of elections, political parties and election disputes — administered by the Election Commission of Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2017 | 2017 | In force | Creates the limited liability partnership — a body corporate with partnership flexibility — registered and regulated by the SECP as an alternative to general partnerships and private companies. | Our analysis |
| Right of Access to Information Act, 2017 | 2017 | In force | The federal freedom-of-information law under Article 19A — it gives citizens access to the records of federal public bodies, enforced by the Pakistan Information Commission. | Our analysis |
| Futures Market Act, 2016 | 2016 | In force | The statute governing futures markets in Pakistan — it licenses futures exchanges, clearing houses, brokers and advisers, and prohibits unlicensed futures trading. | Our analysis |
| Securities Act, 2015 | 2015 | In force | The principal capital-markets statute — it governs public offers of securities, licenses exchanges, depositories and brokers, and creates the insider trading and market manipulation offences. | Our analysis |
| Industrial Relations Act, 2012 | 2012 | In force | The federal industrial relations statute — it governs trade unions, collective bargaining and unfair labour practices in the Islamabad Capital Territory and in trans-provincial establishments, through the National Industrial Relations Commission. | Our analysis |
| Arbitration Act, 1940 & Recognition and Enforcement Act, 2011 | 2011 | In force | The 1940 Act governs domestic arbitration; the 2011 Act gives effect to the New York Convention on arbitration agreements and foreign arbitral awards. | Our analysis |
| Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 | 2010 | Amended | Pakistan's core anti-money-laundering statute — defines the offence of money laundering, requires reporting of suspicious transactions and empowers the Financial Monitoring Unit. | Our analysis |
| Competition Act, 2010 | 2010 | In force | Prohibits cartels, abuse of dominance and deceptive marketing, and requires prior clearance of mergers from the Competition Commission of Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Punjab & Sindh Rented Premises Laws | 2009 | In force | The Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009 and the Sindh Rented Premises Ordinance, 1979 govern urban landlord-tenant relations — tenancy agreements, rent, and eviction — in Pakistan's two largest provinces. | Our analysis |
| Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001 | 2001 | Amended | The special regime for recovery of finances by banks and financial institutions from customers — summary suits before Banking Courts, restricted leave to defend, and a mortgagee's power of sale. | Our analysis |
| Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 | 2001 | Amended | The principal federal income tax statute, administered by the Federal Board of Revenue and amended every year by the Finance Act. | Our analysis |
| Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 | 2001 | In force | Pakistan's trade mark statute — it provides for registration, opposition, infringement and licensing of trade marks, including service marks, administered through the Trade Marks Registry under IPO-Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Insurance Ordinance, 2000 | 2000 | In force | The principal insurance statute — it governs the registration, capital, solvency and conduct of insurers, regulates agents and brokers, and creates the Insurance Tribunals and the Insurance Ombudsman. | Our analysis |
| Patents Ordinance, 2000 | 2000 | Amended | Pakistan's patent statute — it provides for the grant, opposition, revocation and enforcement of patents with a twenty-year term, administered by the Patent Office under IPO-Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Sales Tax Act, 1990 | 1990 | Amended | Levies federal sales tax on the supply and import of goods, currently at a standard rate of 18 per cent, with registration, invoicing and input tax rules. | Our analysis |
| Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 | 1984 | In force | Pakistan's law of evidence — it replaced the Evidence Act, 1872 and governs relevance, proof, witnesses, and documents in every court. | Our analysis |
| Customs Act, 1969 | 1969 | Amended | Governs the levy of customs duties, import and export procedure, valuation and classification, and smuggling offences and their adjudication. | Our analysis |
| Land Revenue Act, 1967 | 1967 | Amended | The West Pakistan-era statute, continued and amended by each province, that governs land records, mutations, revenue officers, partition of holdings, and recovery of dues as arrears of land revenue. | Our analysis |
| Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 | 1962 | In force | The principal statute regulating banks in Pakistan — licensing, permitted business, State Bank supervision, enforcement, and resolution of banking companies. | Our analysis |
| Copyright Ordinance, 1962 | 1962 | Amended | Pakistan's copyright statute — it protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films and sound recordings, including computer programs, with civil remedies and criminal offences for infringement. | Our analysis |
| Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 | 1947 | Amended | Controls dealings in foreign exchange, payments to and from non-residents and the movement of currency, administered by the State Bank of Pakistan. | Our analysis |
| Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 | 1908 | In force | The procedural code for civil litigation in Pakistan — how suits are filed, tried, decided, appealed, and executed. | Our analysis |
| Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 | 1898 | Amended | The procedural spine of Pakistani criminal justice — FIRs, investigation, arrest, bail, trial, appeal, and revision. | Our analysis |
| Transfer of Property Act, 1882 | 1882 | In force | The general law on transfers of immovable property between living persons — sale, mortgage, lease, exchange, and gift. | Our analysis |
| Specific Relief Act, 1877 | 1877 | In force | Codifies the remedies a Pakistani civil court can grant — possession, specific performance, rectification, cancellation, declarations, and injunctions. | Our analysis |
| Contract Act, 1872 | 1872 | In force | The general law of contract in Pakistan — formation, performance, breach, and the specific contracts of indemnity, guarantee, bailment, and agency. | Our analysis |
| Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 | 1860 | Amended | Pakistan's general criminal code — it defines offences and punishments, from offences against the person and property to fraud, forgery, and public order. | Our analysis |
Statuses reflect the firm’s reading as of the date on each entry and are verified before publication. This tracker is information, not advice.