Islamabad, Aug 15: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif celebrated the nation's Independence Day in the Rawalpindi Central Jail on Tuesday with other inmates, the media reported on Wednesday.

"Three cakes weighing 10 pounds each were brought to the jail and the former premier paid for them," Dawn news quoted a jail official official as saying.

At the request of some inmates, Sharif cut a cake and made a brief speech, he added.

Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Capt Muhammad Safdar were present at the event.

Maryam informed women inmates about the progress the country made during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

According to the official, the jail inmates took interest when the former Prime Minister told them about events leading to his government's decision about conducting nuclear tests in 1998.

He said Sharif had also spoken about his family's struggle after the independence of the country.

Meanwhile, Sharif expr­essed the resolve to initiate a programme for providing higher education to prisoners in jails across the country, according to a senior PML-N leader.

"In this regard, the Islamic International University's help will be required," he told Dawn.

There was a plan to provide postgraduate education to interested prisoners and classes for it would be organised inside jails, he added.

Sharif, Maryam and Safdar are serving prison sentence of 10 years, seven years and one year, respectively after being convicted in the Avenfield case involving the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.

 

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.