Sir: In Pakistani culture, cousin-marriages are very common. According to a study, in Pakistan 82.5 percent parents are blood-relatives of first, second or third generations.
Pakistani families often prefer cousin marriages because for them it is the safest way to protect their children unaware of the fact that cousin marriages lead to severe health issues. Cousin marriages are called as consanguineous marriages and children who are born out of such marriages are more likely to suffer genetic mutations than those who are not.
No doubt, our families and relations are the closest to us, but to avoid disabilities and discrepancies which occur due to interbreeding in families ,Pakistani parents should stop cousin marriages so that upcoming generation should not suffer.
TILYAN ASLAM
Turbat, Kech