12 July 2026
There are 44 cantonments in Pakistan covering 306,341 acres of land. They are located in all major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan, and Quetta. They are mini cities. The first Cantonment was established by the British in 1765 at Barrackpore near Calcutta. The aim was to protect military installations and residences.
During British rule and afterwards in Pakistan, cantonments were run under the Cantonments Act of 1924. They have not bothered to change it!.
Management of Cantonments
In Pakistan, cantonment boards are the main decision-making bodies, while the Ministry of Defence / Military Lands and Cantonments Department provides overarching control. The Station Commander is typically the President of the Cantonment Board, while the Executive Officer runs day-to-day administration as the board’s chief municipal officer. The boards handle municipal functions such as sanitation, roads, lighting, water supply, land management, and local development. Both the Station Commander and the Executive Officers are active service officers. Other members of the Board are civilians and are elected. Residents pay taxes.
Cantonment land is divided in 3 categories; A, B, C. Category A is for military use only and typically military installations. Category B is for mixed civilian and Military use; for example housing, shops, stores etc. Category C is largely for civilian use. Any commercial activity in cantonment land requires approval from the Secretary of the administrative division / competent authority and the military land administration.
Corruption and Irregularity Allegations
Although commercial development is centrally and tightly controlled, there have been allegations of corruption, but no proof was available.
A broader defence-ministry report also said 21 army employees were involved in financial irregularities related to military lands and cantonments, and it named a former central executive officer in Peshawar among those accused of embezzlement through a ghost plot allotment. The following are allegations.
| City | Development or issue | Allegation / concern | When reported |
| Karachi | Commercial activity on cantonment lands, including disputed high-rise / mall-type development | Supreme Court ordered an end to commercial activity on cantonment lands and criticized misuse of military land for business purposes. | 2019; earlier case reporting in 2021 |
| Karachi | Clifton Cantonment mixed-use high-rise | Building was reported as being constructed in violation of court orders after conversion from residential to commercial use. | Conversion in 2018; reported in 2019 |
| Karachi | Falcon Mall / commercial use of defence land | Alleged misuse of defence land for commercial purposes. | Case surfaced in 2016; widely reported in 2021 |
| Rawalpindi | Commercial use of old grant properties; proposed commercial plazas / parking plazas | Concerns around unauthorized commercial use and later regularization of properties. | 2012; 2020; 2024 |
| Rawalpindi | Cantonment Board corruption probe | Allegations of corruption, malpractice, and assets beyond known income against board officials. | 2025 |
| Abbottabad | Government land misappropriation involving a cantonment board member | Anti-corruption action alleged forged land transactions and bribery. | 2023 |
| Islamabad | Illegal allotment of state land in E-11 | NAB alleged unlawful allotment by officials in exchange for personal gain. While not a cantonment case, it shows the broader land-development corruption pattern in Pakistan. | 2025 |
Conclusion
In 2023 the government gave authority to Cantonment Boards to use surplus land for commercial, residential and other purposes. This has opened a flood gate for future corruption.
We believe that the army should retain stewardship of Category A land only. The other category lands come under civilian control.