ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has reissued notices to Shehryar Ahmad in a review petition concerning his nikah with Maria, a Christian woman who has since converted to Islam.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha, on Wednesday heard a review petition filed by Shahbaz Masih, Maria’s father, under Article 175(G) of the Constitution.
Shahbaz Masih, has challenged the FCC judgment dated February 3, 2026, whereby the court, upheld the decisions of the Lahore High Court and the Additional Sessions Judge, Lahore.
At the outset of the proceedings, Justice Agha remarked that this was a review case, therefore the lawyers should pinpoint what errorsdo exist in the original judgment.
Advocate Muhammad Saqib Jillani, representing the petitioner, contended that the error is floating on the face the record. He argued that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) overruled the judicial precedents, which have been relied upon in the FCC verdict. He said the FSC judgment is binding upon all the Courts in Pakistan, including the Supreme Court and the FCC. All the judicial forums were bound to protect the welfare of the girl, he added.
Justice Rizvi, however, said that that the court had delivered the judgment on an appeal filed against the decision by the High Court in habeas corpus, and the case before the FCC was not about the girl’s age, but was merely a matter of appeal against the High Court’s decision. He further said if the parties had an objection regarding the girl’s age, they should have approached the Family Court.
Justice Rizvi further said that the girl and the boy had appeared before the court, and the girl Maria Shahbaz had given a statement in the court that she was not underage but an adult. He also pointed out that the girl’s age was not highlighted before any forum He said the girl’s birth certificate was obtained after 10 years and the NADRA certificate was obtained after 8 years.
The court staff informed the court that notice could not be served on respondent no. 1, the boy, upon which Acting Chief Justice Hasan Rizvi said that notices should be re-issued to the girl and the boy (the married couple), and adjourned the hearing.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026