Your neighbour's daughter is 14. Her family says the nikah is fixed. The elders decided, the boy's family agreed, and everyone calls it normal. Is it legal?
No. In most of Pakistan now, it is a crime. This article tells you what the law says today, what changed, and what still lags.
What is child marriage under Pakistani law?
A child marriage is a marriage where either side is a child. Under the old federal law, the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, a child meant a boy under 18 or a girl under 16. That law made the marriage an offence, but the punishment was weak. At first it was one month in jail or a fine of Rs 1,000. Punjab raised this to six months and a fine of Rs 50,000 in 2015.
Then the 18th Amendment moved marriage law from the centre to the provinces. So each province now has its own rules, and they moved at different speeds.
Which parts of Pakistan ban child marriage now?
Sindh led first. The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013 set the age at 18 for boys and girls. It passed in April 2014 and became Sindh Act No. XV of 2014. The man who marries a child, the person who performs the nikah, and the parent or guardian who allows it can each get rigorous imprisonment of two to three years plus a fine. The offence is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. The court must finish the trial within 90 days, and it can issue an injunction to stop a marriage that is about to happen.
Islamabad followed in 2025. Parliament passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 on 16 May 2025. The minimum age is 18 for both boys and girls. Anyone who facilitates or forces a child into marriage can face up to seven years in prison. An adult man who marries a girl under 18 can face up to three years. The 1929 Act no longer applies in the capital.
Balochistan passed its law in November 2025. Before that, the age was 18 for boys and 16 for girls. Now it is 18 for both.
Punjab came last, in 2026. The governor signed the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026 on 11 February 2026, and the provincial assembly later confirmed it as an Act. The age is 18 for both sexes. Contracting, facilitating or promoting a child marriage carries up to seven years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 million. The offences are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. A nikah registrar who registers a marriage of anyone under 18 faces up to one year and a fine of Rs 100,000. An adult who marries a child faces rigorous imprisonment of two to three years and a fine of up to Rs 500,000. Living with a child as husband and wife after such a marriage is treated as child abuse, punishable with five to seven years and a minimum fine of Rs 1 million, even if the child said yes. A guardian who permits the marriage or fails to stop it faces two to three years and a fine of up to Rs 500,000. These cases are heard by Sessions Courts and must finish within 90 days.
Before Punjab's new law, the Lahore High Court had already struck down the old gender split. In April 2024, Justice Shahid Karim ruled that setting 16 as the age for girls and 18 for boys was unconstitutional and had no legal effect.
Where is the age still 16?
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As of late 2025, the legal age there was still 18 for boys and 16 for girls. The provincial cabinet approved a draft law in 2025 that mirrors the federal one, but it was sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology and has not become law. So in KP, an underage marriage is still legally possible in a way it no longer is in Sindh, Islamabad, Balochistan or Punjab.
Does the law actually stop it?
Not yet, and the numbers show why. UNICEF says nearly 19 million women and girls in Pakistan were married before 18, and 4.6 million before 15. Among women married before 18, close to four in five had already given birth before turning 18. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child reported in 2024 that 54% of child marriages in Pakistan were already illegal under the provincial laws in force at the time. So the gap is enforcement, not just the law on paper.
Is the 18 age against Islam?
This question is being fought in court right now. In June 2026, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam filed a petition against the Islamabad law, arguing that a person who has reached puberty should be free to marry. Another petition was filed on 27 June 2026 against the Punjab law.
The Federal Shariat Court has already answered this question twice. In 2021, in Farooq Omar Bhoja v Federation of Pakistan, it called the practice of giving girls in marriage to settle disputes un-Islamic and said the state can set a minimum age. In 2023, in Ali Azhar v Province of Sindh, it rejected a challenge to the Sindh law and held that marriage needs more than puberty. It needs rushd, meaning mental and emotional maturity, and setting a minimum age to protect children until that maturity arrives is a public interest allowed under Islamic law.
One warning for parents. Even where child marriage is a crime, the marriage itself can still be treated as valid under family law. Courts have at times accepted the marriage of a 15 year old girl on the basis of puberty. The criminal law punishes the adults, but it does not always undo the union. If you are dealing with a marriage that already happened, get proper legal advice about the options, including a family court petition.
What can you do if a child marriage is being arranged?
You do not have to wait until the nikah happens.
- Ask the court to stop it. Under the 1929 Act and the Sindh Act, a court can issue an injunction before the marriage takes place if you apply with information about the planned marriage.
- Report it to the police. In Sindh and Punjab the offences are cognizable, so the police can register a case without a court order.
- Get help. A lawyer can file the application and handle the police complaint. If money is tight, free legal aid in Pakistan is available in many districts.
What this means for you
The law changed fast. What many families still call normal is now a crime in most of the country, with real prison sentences behind it. If you are the parent, the registrar, or the cleric, you can be the one charged, not just the groom. If you know a girl whose marriage is being fixed, the injunction route exists for a reason. Use it before the nikah, not after.
For the full picture on which marriages are legal and which are not, read what Pakistan's marriage laws actually allow, and whether cousin marriage is legal in Pakistan.
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