Sharif celebrated I-Day with jail inmates
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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AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan moves SC against Waqf Bill
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
In his plea, Khan sought that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill be declared as "unconstitutional and being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300-A of the Constitution" and sought direction for striking it down.
"The Bill violates fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300-A of the Constitution. It curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims, enables arbitrary executive interference, and undermines minority rights to manage their religious and charitable institutions," Khan's plea said.
On Friday, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi moved the apex court, challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, saying it violated the constitutional provisions.
Jawed's plea alleged the Bill imposed "arbitrary restrictions" on Waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community.
The petition, filed through advocate Anas Tanwir, said the proposed law discriminated against the Muslim community by "imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments".
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early April 3 with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Jawed, a Lok Sabha MP from Kishanganj in Bihar, was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Bill and has alleged in his plea that the Bill "introduces restrictions on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice".
"Such a limitation is unfounded in Islamic law, custom or precedent and infringes upon the fundamental right to profess and practice religion under Article 25," it said.
In his separate plea, Owaisi said the Bill takes away from Waqfs various protections which were accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.
Owaisi's plea, filed by advocate Lzafeer Ahmad, said, "This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims and is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion."
The plea argued the amendments "irreversibly dilute" the statutory protections afforded to Waqfs and their regulatory framework while giving "undue advantage" to other stakeholders and interest groups, undermining years of progress and pushing back Waqf management by several decades.
"Appointing non-Muslims on the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards disturbs this delicate constitutional balance and tilts it to the detriment of the right of Muslims as a religious group to remain in control of their Waqf properties," Owaisi said.
