Dawn
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08:39 Feb 21, 2026
RAWALPINDI: In a landmark judgment, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that profit-making subsidiaries of charitable trusts are not exempt from Zakat deduction. The LHC’s Rawalpindi Bench gave this ruling while dismissing a petition filed by Fauji Foundation’s educational entity Foundation University. The plea challenged the deduction of Zakat from its investments in National Saving Certificates. The bench, led by Justice Jawad Hassan, held that the university does not qualify for exemption as a charitable institution under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980. Justice Hassan ruled that the university, despite being established under the Foundation University Ordinance 2002 and sponsored by the Fauji Foundation, functions as an independent body corporate with financial autonomy, making it liable to compulsory Zakat deduction. The university had approached the court through counsel Sayyid Murtaza Ali Pirzada, seeking to set aside a letter issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on April 24, 2018, which hel...