Senate committee approves draft bill raising minimum marriage age to 18 years

The minimum age for marriage in Pakistan will soon be raised from the age of 16 to 18 years, after the Senate committee gave its nods to the draft bill on Wednesday.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman presented the draft of the bill to the Senate Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar. The bill proposed the minimum age of marriage be raised to 18, local media reported. The call for the approval of the draft bill was also seconded by Senator Usman Kakar

Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said that the government had no objections to raising the minimum age for marriage to 18. Mazari added that the bill had been to the cabinet for approval after which the bill will be presented before Parliament next month.

Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah suggested that in order to ensure that the decision regarding the bill was in accordance religious principles, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) should also be on board

However, his suggestion was opposed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement MPA Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif  who said that the CII’s opinion was not necessary.