Pakistan

Marriage age cap can be state-determined, rules court

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

FSC’s ruling comes on plea filed by ex-husband of Arzoo Fatima.
State’s action not “contradictory” to Islamic laws, the court observes.
Court turns down plea filed by Arzoo’s ex-husband Ali Azhar.

KARACHI: The prerogative to set the minimum age for marriage lies with the state, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) ruled on Monday.

The court’s verdict came on a petition filed by Ali Azhar, the ex-husband of Arzoo Fatima, who had contracted free-will marriage after converting from Christianity to Islam at the age of 13 in 2020.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) declared her marriage invalid for being underage and sent her to a shelter home in November 2020.

Later, her ex-husband moved the Shariat Court, challenging the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, which prohibits the marriage of any child under the age of 18 years old.

The court, in its judgement, turned down Azhar’s petition and ruled that the state has the right to set the minimum age for marriage. The state’s action was not “contradictory” to the Islamic laws, the Shariat Court observed.

SHC dismisses petition

The SHC, in October 2021, had dismissed a petition that challenged the Sindh Child Marriages Restraining Act 2013 terming it against the injunctions of Islam and the Constitution.

The petitioner, Azhar, had requested the high court to declare the vires of the Sindh Child Marriages Restraining Act, 2013, to be against the injunctions of Islam and against the Constitution, so that they would not be applicable to Muslims.

He also sought a declaration that the definition of a child given in the Sindh Child Marriages Restraining Act’s Section 2(a) would be governed or changed with the sign of puberty for Muslims.

Latest News

PTI and JUI (Sherani) decide to proceed by consensus.

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Sherani) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have agreed to proceed together.

Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, the leader of JUI (Sherani), met with Barrister Dr. Saif, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Advisor.

The conference also included former senator Aslam Buledi and former federal minister Muhammad Ali Durrani.

The discussion focused on promoting reconciliation, political cooperation, and collective progress in the country. In addition, Barrister Dr. Saif read Fatiha and expressed sympathy for Maulana Sherani’s wife’s demise.

Barrister Saif recognized Maulana Sherani as a respected religious and political person, a senior member of parliament, and an expert in constitutional law during the meeting. He said that Maulana Sherani’s services are greatly valued by PTI founder Imran Khan and the party, and they hope he will play an active role in promoting trust, cooperation, and national reconciliation.

Maulana Sherani was invited to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Barrister Saif on behalf of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani emphasized the importance of reconciliation in guiding the nation away from conflict and proposed that Muhammad Ali Durrani be instrumental in promoting this process.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

3 weeks ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Entertainment

‘Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan’ is a new song teased by ISPR for Solidarity Day

Published

3 weeks ago

Farwa

A new anthem, “Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan,” was issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday (tomorrow) in honor of Kashmir Solidarity Day.

Every year on February 5, Kashmir Solidarity Day is commemorated to show solidarity with the people of Indian-Occupied Kashmir.

Renowned musician Ahmed Jahanzeb sings the song, which sends a powerful message of solidarity and dedication to the liberation fighters of Held Kashmir.

Imran Raza wrote the words, while Irfan Saleem and Kamran Khan composed the music.

The song was composed especially to commemorate the momentous day and to reaffirm support for the courageous and tenacious people of Kashmir, who are fighting for their right to self-determination, as guaranteed by the documents of united nations