Can a woman ask for a divorce in Pakistan?
Yes. If the husband will not pronounce talaq, the wife can go to the Family Court and ask to dissolve the marriage. The law gives her two routes.
The first route is fault based. She has to prove one of the grounds in the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, like cruelty, or no maintenance for two years.
The second route is khula. She does not have to prove fault. She tells the court she cannot live with him, and the court ends the marriage.
What is khula?
Khula is a divorce that starts with the wife. The word means to remove something, like a garment. In Islamic law the wife gives something in return, usually the haq mehr she received, and the marriage ends. The basis is verse 2:229 of the Quran, which courts have called a charter granted to the wife.
In Pakistan khula goes through the Family Court. The husband's consent is not required. The Lahore High Court said this in 1959 in Balqis Fatima, and the Supreme Court confirmed it in 1967 in Khurshid Bibi. A wife who has an aversion to her husband can get khula even without proving any fault. For the full map of the routes, see how talaq, khula, and the court route compare in Pakistan.
The grounds under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939
A woman can get a decree of dissolution on any one of these grounds:
- the husband's whereabouts have been unknown for four years
- he has not provided maintenance for two years
- he is serving a prison sentence of seven years or more
- he has failed his marital obligations for three years without reasonable cause
- he was impotent at the time of marriage
- he has been insane for two years, or has leprosy or a venereal disease
- she was given in marriage before 15 and repudiated it before 18, and the marriage was not consummated
- he treats her with cruelty
- any other ground recognized under Muslim law
The cruelty ground is wider than people think. It covers a husband who habitually assaults his wife, or makes her life miserable by ill treatment. It also covers a husband who forces her into an immoral life, disposes of her property, blocks her religious practice, or treats her unequally when he has more than one wife. That is section 2(viii) of the Act.
If the cruelty is physical, the separate domestic violence law in Pakistan adds protection orders and helplines.
Pakistan adds one more ground. A wife can seek dissolution if the husband takes a second wife without the Arbitration Council's permission. That is a breach of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961.
Khula: the route where she does not prove fault
Section 10(4) of the Family Courts Act 1964 makes this simple. If reconciliation fails in a suit for dissolution of marriage, the court shall pass the decree forthwith. The same provision says the court restores to the husband the haq mehr the wife received at the time of marriage.
The Federal Shariat Court upheld this provision in Saleem Ahmad, PLD 2014 FSC 43.
The 2026 Supreme Court judgment you should know about
In January 2026 the Supreme Court drew a clear line. A Family Court cannot convert a wife's suit for dissolution on grounds of cruelty into khula on its own. Khula has to be what the wife actually asked for.
Dawn reported the case as Courts should not convert divorce cases into khula: SC. A wife had sued on cruelty and on her husband's second marriage. The Family Court ignored those grounds and granted khula, which made her surrender her dower. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, set that aside. It held the cruelty was proved, dissolved the marriage on that ground, and ordered her remaining dower of Rs 1.2 million paid.
What this means for you: if you have real grounds, plead them. A decree on the ground keeps your dower.
How to file for khula: the steps
Khula is a court case. The steps:
- Collect your nikahnama and CNIC copies.
- Prepare a plaint. One plaint can carry every claim: dissolution, dower, maintenance, dowry, your belongings, and custody of children. That is the proviso to section 7(1).
- File in the Family Court of the district where you ordinarily reside. Under rule 6 of the West Pakistan Family Courts Rules 1965, a wife can file where she lives, not only where the husband lives.
- Pay the court fee. It is fifteen rupees for any family suit. That is section 19 of the Family Courts Act.
- The court sends the summons within two days and fixes a date within fifteen days. That is section 8. The husband files his written statement under section 9.
- The first hearing is for reconciliation. Section 10(3). If reconciliation fails, the trial proceeds.
- The court must finish the case within six months. That is section 12A.
The decree goes to the Chairman of the Union Council within three days and becomes effective after 90 days, like a talaq. That is section 21B. For costs and the real timeline, see what filing for divorce in Pakistan costs and how long it takes.
After the decree comes iddat. The rules on how long it lasts are in how long iddat lasts after divorce in Pakistan.
What happens to the haq mehr?
The general rule is that the wife returns the haq mehr she received. But when the breakdown is the husband's fault, courts do not make her pay. In Zahida Bi v Muhammad Maqsood, 1987 CLC 57, the court said the husband should get nothing back when he caused the dissolution. The 2026 judgment follows the same idea: the cruelty proved, the wife kept her full dower.
If the haq mehr was never paid, there is nothing to return. She can claim it in the same suit. The full dower law in Pakistan is in a separate guide.
Does the husband have to agree?
No. Since Khurshid Bibi in 1967, the Supreme Court has held that the husband's consent is not needed. The 2026 judgment works the other way: the wife's own consent matters.
What it means for you
Khula exists so that a woman is not held in a marriage against her will. It is a court process, cheap on paper, and the law gives it six months. Keep your nikahnama safe.
If your husband married again without the Arbitration Council's permission, that is a ground for dissolution and a crime. The official Punjab Police explanation of section 6 puts the penalty at one year in prison and a fine of up to five hundred thousand rupees.
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