A woman in Lahore asked Lexiber a question that thousands of families face. Her husband had stopped paying rent, school fees and grocery money. She wanted to know one thing: does the law make him pay?
Yes. It is called nafqa, and in Pakistan it is a legal right, not a favour. This post explains who must pay, how courts fix the amount, and what you can do when the payments stop.
What is nafqa?
Nafqa is the money a person must spend on someone the law says he must support. It covers food, clothing, shelter, medical care and other needs, fixed according to the social status of the family. The Sindh Judicial Academy traces the duty to the Quran, which calls men the protectors and maintainers of women (Surah An Nisa 4:34) and tells a father to provide for the mother of his child (Surah Al Baqarah 2:233).
Who has to pay whom?
Husband to wife. A husband must maintain his wife as long as the marriage exists and she is faithful to him. She keeps this right even if she has money of her own. She loses it only if she refuses to live with him without a lawful excuse, such as cruelty or an unpaid dower.
Father to children. A father must maintain his children. A son is maintained until he can earn, and longer if he is studying or unwell. A daughter is maintained until she marries, and again after a divorce until she remarries. The father pays whether the children live with him or with their mother, and the child's right does not depend on who keeps the children.
Divorced wife. A divorced wife gets maintenance for her iddat, the waiting period of about three months, or until delivery if she is pregnant. The Quran says divorced women have a right to fair maintenance (Surah Al Baqarah 2:241).
Widow. A widow is maintained during her iddat, and if she is left destitute, from the estate of her husband.
Grandfather. A grandfather steps in only when the father is dead, missing or unable to pay. In 1991 the Supreme Court said that while the father is alive, grandparents have no duty.
What the law says
The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, section 9: if a husband fails to maintain his wife adequately, or fails to maintain his wives equitably, the wife can apply to the Chairman of her Union Council. The Arbitration Council then issues a certificate fixing the amount. Unpaid amounts are recovered like arrears of land revenue, one of the strongest recovery methods in the law.
The Family Courts Act 1964: maintenance is item 3 of the Schedule, and the Family Court has exclusive jurisdiction over it. A wife can also fold her maintenance claim into a divorce suit. That is how most wives claim nafqa, often together with khula.
One more law matters. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 says a wife can get her marriage dissolved if the husband fails to provide maintenance for two years. Non payment is not just a money dispute. After two years it becomes a ground for divorce.
There used to be a quick criminal route too. A magistrate could order maintenance under sections 488 to 490 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Those sections were omitted in Pakistan in 1981. Today the Family Court is the only place to claim maintenance.
How much? There is no fixed table
Pakistani courts have never fixed a percentage of income. Every case turns on its own facts. Judges look at the paying spouse's income and other obligations, the needs of the wife or child, the family's social status, school fees, medical expenses and market prices.
Two real figures give a sense of scale. In 2026 the Supreme Court upheld Rs 30,000 a month for a child whose father managed a textile company in Bangladesh, with a 15 per cent yearly increase. In 2012 a Lahore court fixed Rs 100,000 a month for a special needs child of a wealthy father.
If the court does not fix a yearly increase, the amount goes up by 10 per cent every year on its own.
How to claim maintenance
Step 1. Try the Union Council. Apply to the Chairman under section 9 of the MFLO. The Arbitration Council issues a certificate. This route costs no court fee, but it works best when the husband is willing to pay something.
Step 2. Or file a suit in the Family Court. The court fee is a flat Rs 15 on the plaint. File in the district where the parties live or last lived together. In divorce and dower suits, the wife can also file where she now lives.
Step 3. Get interim maintenance fast. The first hearing is fixed within 15 days. On the husband's first appearance the court fixes interim monthly maintenance for the wife or child, so the family is not left without support while the case runs.
Step 4. Watch the 14th. If the husband does not pay the interim amount by the 14th of each month, his defence is struck off and the suit is decreed on the plaint.
Step 5. Expect a decision in six months. The law tells the Family Court to finish the case within six months. If it does not, either party can ask the High Court for directions.
Step 6. Enforce the decree. Unpaid maintenance is recovered as arrears of land revenue. The collector can move against the husband's property and income.
Step 7. Appeal, with limits. Appeals go to the District Judge within 30 days. There is no appeal when the maintenance is Rs 5,000 or less per month, and no appeal at all against interim orders.
Three things people get wrong
Children's maintenance cannot be signed away. An agreement between parents that no maintenance will be paid is not enforceable. The child's right is independent.
Past maintenance is hard to claim. Courts award it only where the amount was fixed earlier by a court or by the father himself. File early and keep proof of every payment.
Maintenance is not dower. Dower is the sum fixed in the nikahnama, a debt that belongs to the wife. Nafqa is ongoing support. Both can be claimed.
What this means for you
If a husband stops maintaining his wife or children, the law gives a working answer. The route is clear, the fee is tiny, and interim maintenance starts at the first hearing. The hard part is evidence. Keep bank records of what he earns and what the family spends, and see how maintenance runs through a divorce if the marriage is ending.
For custody and maintenance together, see our guide on child custody in Pakistan. More family law guides are on the Lexiber blog, and you can start from the home page.
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