How to Check the Latest Text of a Federal Law in Pakistan on Pakistan Code, Free

Short answer: To read the current text of any federal law in Pakistan, open pakistancode.gov.pk, the Ministry of Law and Justice's free official site, and search or browse by name, year or category. Each law opens as a PDF with amendments built in and footnotes showing which Act changed each line. For anything legally decisive, check the Gazette notification.

Many old law PDFs still circulate on WhatsApp and in printed books. That is how mistakes happen. On 20 October 2026 we compared a 1979 Ordinance as printed by a government agency with the same law on Pakistan Code. The older copy was missing two penalty changes made in 2025.

Pakistan Code is the Pakistan Code Website, run by the Ministry of Law and Justice. Its own FAQ calls it an "online bilingual official version" of federal primary and secondary legislation. We used it to read every law cited in this piece.

Pakistan Code holds federal laws in their amended form

Pakistan Code says it keeps legislation in "revised" form. That means later amendments are written into the main text, so you read the law as it stands, not as first passed. New laws are uploaded as soon as reasonably practicable after Gazette publication.

When we counted the federal laws list on 20 October 2026, it had 1,044 entries. The newest at the top included the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 and the Defense Forces of Pakistan Act, 2026. The oldest at the bottom went back to the Interest Act of 1839.

It covers federal laws only. Provincial laws, such as Punjab's tenancy or Sindh's rent laws, are published by each province, not on Pakistan Code.

You can find a law four ways or by searching the text

The site lets you browse laws alphabetically, by year, by category, or by the government Division that runs them. There is also a free text search in English and Urdu, an advanced search, and keyword and phrase indexes.

Category browsing is the quickest when you do not know the exact name. These are the counts the site showed on 20 October 2026.

Some labels can mislead. "Tenancy Laws" and "Minorities Laws" both showed 0, because those subjects are mostly provincial.

Six steps get you the current text of any federal law

Search for the law, expand its entry to check the Act number and date, open the PDF, and read the footnotes on the sections you need. Then check whether anything newer has changed it, using the Assembly's Acts list or the Gazette.

1. Open pakistancode.gov.pk and choose English or Urdu.
2. Use Laws in Alphabetical Order, or type part of the name in the search box. Use the short form, for example "Emigration".
3. Click the law's name to expand the entry. It shows the category, the Act or Ordinance number and the promulgation date.
4. Open the PDF. The first pages list the sections. Go to the one you need.
5. Read the small numbered footnotes under the page. They say which Act substituted, inserted or omitted each part, and when.
6. Check the National Assembly's Acts of Parliament list for anything passed after that footnote date.

Here is what step 5 looks like in practice. In the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, the footnote "Subs. by Act No. VIII of 2025" sits under sections 17(1), 18 and 22. It shows those penalties now include fines of up to Rs 1 million or Rs 2 million. A copy printed before 2025 will not show that.

The Gazette is the legal source when there is any doubt

Pakistan Code's own disclaimer says its content is for information and "currently under review". In any doubt, it tells users to refer to the original Gazette notification. For a court case or a contract, rely on the Gazette, and use Pakistan Code to find it.

The site links to the Law Ministry's Document Retrieval System at drs.molaw.gov.pk for Gazette notifications of federal laws. We could not open that system on 20 October 2026, as it did not respond. Try again later, or ask the Laws of Pakistan Cell, whose number on the site is 051 9211976.

On the federal laws list, 29 entries carried the label "Under Final Review" on 20 October 2026. One example is the Transfer of Railways (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. Treat such entries as likely correct but check the Gazette text.

Pakistan Code will not tell you if a bill has passed

Pakistan Code shows Acts and Ordinances, not bills. A bill tabled or passed by one House will not appear until it becomes an Act and is uploaded. For bills, use the National Assembly and Senate websites, which list them with dates and text.

Take the Emigration (Amendment) Bill tabled on 19 October 2026. Pakistan Code still shows the current penalties, which is correct, because the bill is not law. The stages a bill passes are set out in how a bill becomes law in Pakistan.

Finance Acts are a special case. We did not find the Finance Act, 2026 as a separate entry. Its changes are made to the tax laws it amends, so look up the Income Tax Ordinance or Sales Tax Act directly, and read the footnotes.

Pick the right source for what you need

Use Pakistan Code for the current text of a federal Act, the Assembly and Senate sites for bills, the Gazette for the authentic legal version, and each province's own publications for provincial laws. Court judgments sit on each court's own website.

For example, a judgment uploaded on 16 October 2026 by the Federal Constitutional Court, on a Rs 500 fine and a KP police job, quoted sections 285 and 286 of the Pakistan Penal Code. To check those sections yourself, open the Penal Code on Pakistan Code. Its card on the home page is marked "Under Review", so check the Gazette for anything that matters.

Common questions

Is Pakistan Code an official website?

Yes. It is run by the Ministry of Law and Justice. Its disclaimer still tells users to rely on the Gazette when in doubt.

Is Pakistan Code free?

Yes. No account or fee is needed to read or download laws.

Does Pakistan Code include provincial laws?

No. It covers federal laws. Each province publishes its own laws.

How do I know if a section was amended?

Read the numbered footnote beside it. It names the amending Act and section, for example "Subs. by Act No. VIII of 2025, s.2".

Can I read laws in Urdu on Pakistan Code?

Yes. The site has an Urdu version and its search works in both languages.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 20 October 2026. We read the Pakistan Code home page, its FAQ and disclaimer, the full federal laws list, and the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 PDF. We read the National Assembly's Acts of Parliament list. We could not open the Document Retrieval System, and we did not check every law's footnotes against the Gazette.