A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court seeking an increase in the minimum legal marriage age for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 16 to 18 years.
The petition was filed by Lena Qamar and Maham Nafees through their lawyer, Advocate Imran Khan. The federal and provincial governments, the provincial Law Secretary and other relevant authorities have been named as respondents.
The petitioners argued that while the minimum marriage age for girls is 18 in other parts of Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to maintain the legal age at 16.
According to the petition, following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, Islamabad, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan introduced changes to their respective laws, raising the minimum marriage age to 18. However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has yet to make a similar amendment.
The petitioners maintained that underage marriages are contributing to family-related problems and creating social challenges.
They have requested the high court to direct the relevant authorities to raise the minimum marriage age for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 16 to 18 years, bringing the province in line with other parts of the country.
The petition seeks legal intervention to address the issue of underage marriages in the province.