Good news from Pakistan. The Punjab government has issued an ordinance effective immediately, setting the minimum marriage age for both boys and girls at 18. Violations of the law are now classified as prosecutable, non-bailable, and non-reconcilable offenses. The law applies to all Pakistanis, both Muslims and non-Muslims. The intent is to eliminate the barbaric practice of conversions and forced marriages perpetrated by Muslims to which young women (often minors who are still children) belonging to Christian and Hindu minorities are subjected.
New Law May Restrict Forced Marriages of Christian Girls in Pakistan’s Punjab
By Aftab Alexander Mughal — Christians welcomed a significant legal development in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where the government promulgated the “Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026.” The ordinance sets the minimum marriage age for both boys and girls at 18 years. Violations of the law are now classified as cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable offences.
The new law safeguards the rights of both Muslim and non-Muslim girls. However, it is expected to particularly protect young Christian and Hindu girls, from forced marriages. In many past cases, minority girls were abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married against their will. Previously, kidnappers often claimed that once a girl converted to Islam, she could not be returned to her non-Muslim parents. Under certain interpretations of Islamic law, marriage was considered valid once a girl reached puberty, regardless of her documented age.
At the request of the Punjab government, Governor Saleem Haider Khan issued the ordinance on February 11, under Article 128(1) of Pakistan’s Constitution, as the Punjab Assembly was not in session. The Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department of Punjab formally notified the ordinance on February 12. According to the ordinance, all offences will be tried exclusively by a Court of Session, and cases must be concluded within 90 days.
UN Women Pakistan welcomed the ordinance and emphasized that effective implementation, strict enforcement, and community engagement will be essential to translating this legal reform into lasting change.
For many years, Christians and other religious minorities have demanded a uniform minimum marriage age of 18. They hope the new law will reduce cases of forced conversions and forced marriages of Christian and Hindu girls in Punjab province. They have urged the Punjab Assembly to formally adopt the ordinance as an act when it reconvenes.
Protest against forced conversion of Christian girls in Pakistan organised by Pakistan Church organisations (credits)
Punjab now aligns with Sindh province, which had already enacted similar legislation establishing 18 as the legal minimum age for marriage. This reform also addresses a troubling pattern in which minor Christian and Hindu girls were allegedly abducted from Sindh and taken to Punjab to circumvent Sindh’s stricter marriage laws. The new ordinance is expected to close this cross-provincial loophole and deter such practices, said Atta-ur-Rehman, Deputy Director of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference’s National Commission for Justice and Peace.
The ordinance takes immediate effect in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, home to approximately 120 million people. A significant proportion of Pakistan’s Christian population resides there.
The legislative reform alone may not be sufficient. A concerning judicial trend has been observed in cases where girls who convert to Islam are brought before courts. In some instances, age documentation issued by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has reportedly been disregarded, with courts instead relying on medical assessments to determine age. Critics argue that this practice undermines legal protections and may enable abduction under a veneer of legality, Rehman expressed.
Under the new ordinance, the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 — which set the marriage age at 18 for boys and 16 for girls — will be abolished. Enforcement of the previous law had been widely criticized as weak.
The law aims to strengthen child protection, eliminate gender discrimination, and safeguard children from exploitation and abuse. Violations under the new law may result in up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1 million (approximately $2,700). Marriage registrars who facilitate underage marriages may also face penalties. Offences may additionally be treated as child abuse and child trafficking. Guardians who permit or facilitate such marriages may be fined up to Rs. 500,000 (approximately $1,300).
Sohail Alam, a Christian politician and member of the Chief Minister’s Minority Advisory Council of Punjab, described the ordinance as a historic and progressive step toward protecting young girls. “The legislation is a milestone in safeguarding the health, education, and wellbeing of all girls across the province,” he said.
For decades, Christian and Hindu girls in Punjab and Sindh have reportedly been abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married with the assistance of religious figures. Human rights activists describe this pattern as a form of sexual abuse, with some victims reportedly as young as 10 years old. According to advocacy groups, nearly 1,000 girls from religious minorities are allegedly subjected to forced conversion and marriage each year in Pakistan.
In a recent case on February 3 in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court reportedly rejected the parents’ documentary evidence of their daughter’s age and awarded custody of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz to a 30-year-old Muslim man, Shehryar Ahmad, whom the family accused of abducting, forcibly converting, and marrying her. The judges declared the marriage valid. Maria was reportedly abducted on July 29, 2025. Her father, a driver and father of five, filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Nawab Town Police Station in Lahore regarding her abduction. The family has repeatedly sought judicial intervention for her recovery.
Christian lawyers argue that obtaining justice in such cases remains difficult, particularly when courts rely on religious conversion claims and medical age assessments rather than official documentation.
In another significant development, on May 31, 2025, despite opposition from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and some religious political parties, President Asif Ali Zardari signed a landmark bill setting the minimum marriage age at 18 for both genders in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). The CII had argued that classifying marriage under 18 as rape contradicts Islamic Sharia law.
Atta-ur-Rehman emphasized that while the Punjab ordinance represents meaningful progress, further reforms are needed. Addressing procedural loopholes within the justice system – particularly regarding age verification in conversion-related marriage cases – is essential to ensure the law’s intended protections are fully realized.
Pakistan is an Islamic republic where religious minorities constitute approximately 3 percent of the population and often report facing discrimination and violence. According to the 2026 World Watch List published by the Christian charity Open Doors, Pakistan ranks eighth among countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
Aftab Alexander Mughal is the editor of Minority Concern Pakistan, and a former Executive Secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of Pakistan.
