The Standing Committee of the local government of the Punjab Assembly has approved an ordinance banning child marriage. Pir Ashraf Rasool chaired the meeting of the Standing Committee of the local government.
It is pertinent to mention that Governor Punjab, Saleem Haider, has approved the Child Marriage Ordinance 2026.
Legal age for marriage
According to the Child Marriage Ordinance 2026, a child under the age of 18 years would not be allowed to marry, and the legal age for marriage will be 18 years or more.
According to the ordinance, the age of the bride and groom should be 18 years at the time of marriage.
The ordinance also confirmed that underage marriage is a punishable offence and will be prosecuted under the Criminal Act. Those who register a minor’s marriage and the marriage officer will face a minimum of 1 year in prison and a fine of 100,000 rupees.
The ordinance states that anyone who marries a minor will be sentenced to 3 years in prison and a fine of Rs. 500,000. Marriage of a minor under the age of 18 will be considered rape, punishable by 7 years in prison and a fine of Rs. 1 million.
Anyone who takes minor children from Punjab to another province and marries them will be sentenced to 7 years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 million. Marriage registrars and parents will also be held accountable for their negligence.
Punjab Assembly approval
After the committee’s approval, the ordinance will be approved by the Punjab Assembly, and then it will become a law. Chairman Child Protection, Sara Ahmad, Chief Whip Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Rana Arshad, and others attended the committee meeting.
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