In Pakistan, a 5 year old girl was married to a 13 year old boy

Islamabad, May 28 (Tezzbuzz). All the government orders to stop child marriage in Pakistan’s Punjab province went in vain. In Kot Nazir area of ​​Sheikhupura here, a 5 year old girl was married to a 13 year old boy. When the police reached after getting the news, the baraatis and gharaatis ran away. The police raided many places on Monday. During this, a suspect who arranged the marriage was arrested.
Police say that raids are being conducted to arrest other suspects involved in child marriage. It is worth mentioning that marriage before the age of 16 is illegal in Punjab. Police spokesperson said that a case has been registered under Child Marriage Act by Assistant Sub-Inspector of Sadar Muredke Police Station.
It is mentioned in the FIR that children were being forcibly married. The suspects fled after seeing the police. The child’s grandfather Yusuf has admitted that he was getting his grandson married along with his son Muzammil Abbas. The girl’s father Imran, her grandfather Amjad, Bashir and Akram Suleman alias Chana were also present at the wedding. All the arrangements for the marriage were made by Arshad. This Nikaah was conducted by a suspect named Umar Hayat.
The FIR states that by forcibly marrying underage children, a crime has been committed under the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2015. The Punjab government had fixed the legal age of marriage at 16 years in 2015. This year, the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2024 has been drafted to prevent marriages below the age of 18.
Some conservative religious organizations in Pakistan support child marriage. One such organization is the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). Its chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani even says that girls should be married when they show signs of puberty and reach the age of nine. The minimum age of marriage in the law is not according to Islamic law. This has to be changed. He has also demanded from the Parliament to change this law according to Islamic beliefs.
Sherani has also criticized the law against child marriage passed by the Sindh Assembly. Sherani says that Nikah can be done at any age, but the bride can live with the groom only after attaining puberty. Many articles in the Muslim Marriage Law 1961 are un-Islamic. Citing section 6 of the law, he has said that it is also un-Islamic for a man to seek permission from his wife for a second marriage. Women do not have this right.
Tezzbuzz News/Mukund