The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday made a ruling regarding the legal age for marriage and declared any marriages under the age of 18 years as unlawful, according to media reports.
After the hearing of a case related to a 16-year-old girl, Sawera Falak Sher, who had been allegedly kidnapped and married off in May, 2021, Justice Babar Sattar, in a written order, observed that a girl under the age of 18 cannot marry on her own will, while her relatives also cannot proceed with an agreement to the same effect.
The order further stated that the legal age for puberty is 18 years and that the same cannot be decided on the basis of physical changes that emerge at the age.
The judge further directed that the issue of the matter not carrying enough clarity in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance be placed before the Cabinet Division and parliament.
The judge subsequently asked the authorities to hand over the girl to her mother on the basis of her age.
