Petition Questions Age Limit for Marriage
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam has challenged the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025, before the Federal Shariat Court.
The petition was filed by senior counsel Kamran Murtaza. It questions the constitutional and religious validity of key sections of the law.
The petition argues that defining a child as any person under the age of 18 is not in line with the Holy Quran and Sunnah. JUI-F says Islamic law recognises puberty as the main standard for marriage eligibility, not a fixed age limit.
According to the petition, the law creates a blanket restriction on marriage for all persons under 18. The party argues that this approach ignores traditional Islamic legal principles related to physical maturity and marriage capacity.
JUI-F Seeks Court Approval Mechanism
The petition asks the court to direct the federal government to amend the law. JUI-F wants a judicial exception mechanism to be added to the Act.
Under the proposed mechanism, a person under 18 could seek permission from a court for marriage. The petition says such permission should depend on puberty, financial ability, and other relevant factors.
JUI-F argues that similar legal models exist in several Muslim countries, including Jordan, Malaysia, and Egypt. The party says Pakistan can also adopt a court-supervised system instead of an absolute ban.
The petition also challenges reasoning from a 2023 case. It claims the earlier reasoning wrongly mixed mental maturity with physical capacity for marriage. JUI-F says both matters should be assessed separately under Islamic legal principles.
Mandatory Punishments Also Challenged
The petition has also objected to the sentencing provisions in the Islamabad child marriage law. JUI-F argues that mandatory punishments limit judicial discretion.
The party says Islamic principles allow courts to apply discretionary punishment after reviewing the facts of each case. It claims the Act restricts this discretion by imposing fixed penalties.
JUI-F has asked the Federal Shariat Court to declare several sections of the Act inconsistent with Islamic injunctions. These include provisions that treat consensual cohabitation within a valid marriage as child abuse.
The case is expected to start a wider legal and political debate on child marriage laws, religious interpretation, judicial discretion, and the role of the state in regulating marriage age.
