The National Assembly (NA) has unanimously passed a bill criminalizing marriage of children under 18, to eliminate the practice of early child marriages across the country.
According to the bill, the registration of marriages involving individuals under 18 is criminal offense. Marriage registrars have been mandated to verify the identity cards of groom and bride before solemnizing or registering a marriage.
“Failure to comply will result in one year of imprisonment, a fine of PKR 100,000, or both,” the bill read.
According to the recently passed bill, marrying a girl under 18 is now a punishable crime, with men over 18 facing two to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fines for marrying a minor.
The bill termed child marriage an abuse, holding those who coerce or induce minors into marriage accountable as perpetrators of abuse. Arranging a minor’s marriage carries a hefty punishment of five to seven years in prison, a Rs 1 million fine, or both.
Separately, the National Assembly Friday approved a resolution to increase the upper age limit for candidates appearing in the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination by five years, setting the new limit at 35 years starting from 2026.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, MNA Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar sought permission to suspend the rules and present the resolution.
Upon receiving approval, she introduced the resolution in the House. According to the text of the resolution, the House urged the government to provide a five-year age relaxation for CSS aspirants. It called for fixing the upper age limit at 35 years for all candidates starting in 2026 and proposed increasing the number of attempts allowed to five.