ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Punjab provincial assembly this week passed a new law banning marriage under the age of 18 for both boys and girls, introducing tougher penalties for child marriage, child trafficking and abuse linked to underage unions.
The Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 replaces older legislation dating back to 1929 and makes child marriage-related offenses cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of child marriage in South Asia, particularly in rural and low-income communities, with rights organizations warning that early marriage exposes girls to higher risks of domestic violence, school dropouts, early pregnancies and long-term health complications.
Sindh was the first province in Pakistan to set the minimum marriage age at 18 for both boys and girls through legislation passed in 2013, while other provinces have largely retained older legal frameworks setting the minimum age for girls at 16.
“Any form of cohabitation, before attaining the age of eighteen years, with or without consent, resulting from a child marriage shall be the child abuse under the Act,” according to a copy of the Punjab bill seen by Arab News.
The legislation defines a child as “a person, male or female, who is under eighteen years of age” and describes child marriage as any marriage in which one or both parties are below that age.
The bill bars Nikah registrars from registering child marriages and introduces prison terms and fines for adults, guardians and others involved in facilitating such unions.
Under the law, any adult above 18 who marries a child can face between two and three years of rigorous imprisonment and fines of up to Rs500,000 ($1,800).
The legislation also introduces separate punishments for child abuse and trafficking linked to child marriage. Those convicted of inducing or coercing children into such abuse can face prison sentences of between five and seven years and fines of at least Rs1 million ($3,600).
The law also criminalizes moving children outside Punjab to evade child marriage restrictions, defining the practice as child trafficking.
In its statement of objects and reasons, the bill says it aims to modernize child protection laws and remove “gender-based age distinction and discrimination” by setting the minimum marriage age at 18 for both males and females.
The legislation further empowers courts to issue injunctions to prevent child marriages before they take place and requires trials under the law to conclude within 90 days.
Rights advocates have long called for stronger enforcement of minimum marriage age laws across the country, arguing that weak implementation has allowed child marriages to persist despite existing legal restrictions.
