A farmer’s son from Sahiwal, who watched a family dispute outlast a decade
Introduction
My name is Faizan Abbas and I am from Sahiwal. My family has farmed the same land for generations, and for as long as I can remember, a portion of that land has been tied up in a slow-moving dispute between my father and his cousins over how it should be divided among the extended family. I have grown up watching this disagreement drag on for years, consuming time, money and peace of mind that our family could have used far better elsewhere. That experience, more than anything else, is what led me toward wanting to study law.
Family Background
My father and mother both work on our family’s farmland, and I am the eldest of four children. Ours is a joint family setup, common in our part of Punjab, where several related households share land, responsibilities and, unfortunately in our case, disagreements that seem to take far longer to resolve than they should. No one in my family has ever studied law, and most of the guidance my father has received over the years on the land dispute has come from local elders and occasionally a lawyer hired for a specific hearing, rather than any consistent understanding within the family itself.
Educational Background
I completed my matriculation with good grades from a school near our village and had to move to a nearby city to study the pre-law group for intermediate, since our own area did not offer it. This meant extra travel and expense for my family, but they supported the decision without hesitation once I explained why I wanted to pursue it. I was an active member of my college’s debating society and developed a genuine interest in current affairs, particularly anything related to land, agriculture and rural development, subjects that connected directly to the world I came from.
Reasons for Choosing Law
I want to understand the kind of disputes that have shaped so much of my own family’s recent history, not out of resentment, but out of a genuine desire to make sure the next generation does not lose the same years my father has lost. I have come to believe that many long-running family disputes in rural Pakistan continue for so long simply because no one involved fully understands the legal process, and everyone is relying on incomplete advice, assumption and patience alone. I want to be someone who can bring real clarity to situations like these, for my own family first and for others in similar situations afterward.
How I Plan to Serve My Community and Pakistan
My first priority is to complete my legal education seriously and thoroughly, understanding the subject well enough to be genuinely useful rather than simply informed. In the longer term, I would like to practice in a way that remains connected to rural Punjab, where I believe there is a real and lasting need for lawyers who understand both the legal system and the practical realities of agricultural and family land matters. I cannot undo the years my own family has already spent on our dispute, but I can make sure that the knowledge I gain is put to use helping others avoid the same outcome.