LAHORE: In a historic move, Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly passed a law on Wednesday that recognizes the separate religious identity of the country’s Sikh community by allowing its members to register their marriages with union councils according to their own family law.
The Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriages Act, 2018, was tabled in the House by Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora last Friday after getting approval from the Standing Committee on Minorities and Human Rights.
“I am really happy that we have got recognition today by getting our own family law,” said Gurmeet Singh to Arab News. He had come from Nankana Sahib to witness the historic moment at the Punjab Assembly. “Even in India, our marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage law,” he said.
About 25,000 Sikhs live in Pakistan with the majority in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The tomb of the founder of their religion, Guru Nanak, is in Nankana Sahib which is 80 km from Lahore.
Given the religious significance of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Sikhs from different parts of the world, especially India, Canada and the US, visit the province every year in order to perform their religious rituals.
While Pakistan does not have a huge Sikh population, it has benefited their global community by setting an example for other parts of the world and accepting their separate religious identity.
“It is a great moment in our country’s history,” Ramesh Singh Arora told Arab News. “Pakistan will gain global recognition for passing this first-of-its-kind legislation.”
Members of the Sikh community who live in Punjab can now register their marriages — or dissolutions — with union councils under a law that sets them apart from the Muslim majority.
The union councils have also been authorized to issue them with marriage certificates that were previously denied them in the absence of a relevant legal framework.
The Sikh marriage certificates will also be acceptable to the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), making it possible for community members to get documents that are necessary to prove their ties at the international level and get family visas.
“Getting one’s marriage registered is every citizen’s fundamental right,” said Provincial Minister for Minorities’ Affairs, Tahir Khalil Sindhu, when he spoke to the Punjab Assembly. “The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government believes in protecting the basic rights of every citizen and we support this law.”
Punjab Assembly makes history by passing Sikh Marriages Act
Punjab Assembly makes history by passing Sikh Marriages Act
Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot
- The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19
- The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said
ARKANSAS, USA: A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
