Elderly prisoner blazes trail

Muhammad Yousaf Shah, serving life term, secures BA degree

KARACHI:

An elderly prisoner has blazed a trail as he graduated while serving the life-term in the Malir District Jail. Muhammad Yousaf Shah, 55, son of Muhammad Iqbal, passed the BA examination in 2022 in first division.

He has already passed intermediate exam and completed courses in Urdu and Sindhi literatures and religious education while in jail. Yousaf Shah is a resident of Shah Latif Town and father of five: three sons and two daughters who are also pursuing higher education.

Kiran, a daughter of Shah, said that her father had completed his matriculation before he was sentenced to life imprisonment. "After landing in jail, my father decided to resume his education. He passed the intermediate exam with flying colours and then graduated in first division," Kiran told The Express Tribune. She added that her father had also received religious education while in jail.

First, he learnt to recite the Holy Quran and then started teaching fellow inmates. "My father also completed many certificate courses, including in Urdu and Sindhi literatures, during his time in the prison," she said. The Malir District Jail is truly a correction facility as its administration encourages inmates to pursue education.

Kiran expressed her gratitude for the IG Jails and Malir District Jail administration saying that they have provided excellent facilities to inmates in the jail so that they could become productive members of society. Yousaf was arrested in 2012 on drug selling charges in the remits of Latifabad police station near Mehran University on Superhighway and subsequently he was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.

Yousaf has served 11 years of sentence. He has received Diamond Jubilee remissions from the President of Pakistan, Sindh Chief Minister, IG Prisons, Jail Superintendent, and annual remission for his good behaviour during his time in jail. He was also granted remissions for completing a certificate course in Urdu and Sindhi literatures. After all the remissions, Yousaf is scheduled to complete his life sentence within a year and a half. But if he gets another remission for obtaining a BA degree, then he could be released from the jail earlier than that.