The rapid growth of urbanization has resulted in tremendous pressure on housing in urban areas, particularly for middle- and lower-income groups. The formal sector has been unable to cater to the affordable housing demand, particularly for urban poor. Islamabad is the planned city and capital of Pakistan; its development started in 1960. A number of squatter settlements have emerged in this planned city which are increasing with the passage of time. The government of Pakistan, realizing the gravity of the problem, started various programs and approached at different times to address this issue. This paper discusses various international and national approaches in this context. Squatter settlements in Islamabad have been visited, and field data were collected through a survey from France Colony Sector F-7/4, Islamabad and recommendations have been suggested in the light of international practices.

The research aims to highlight and discuss the different modes of settlement of disputes in todayÂ’s populated and overcrowded societies. The research has shown that due to expensive, time consuming and rigid process of formal justice system (court litigation) USA, Australia, UK and even European Union countries have preferred informal justice system (Alternative Dispute Resolution) for disputants to opt for their solutions. The informal dispute resolution system (Alternative Dispute Resolution) prevailing in modern countries like USA, Australia and UK is full of benefits and most probably the main reason for their progress and development also, and the study has shown that the system is working successfully in these countries, therefore, it can be applied anywhere even in the developing countries as well because this system is more sustainable in any form than the formal justice system (court litigation).