LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought replies from the federal and Punjab governments on a petition challenging section 2 of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 being discriminatory against women and unconstitutional.

Azka Wahid filed the petition in public interest through Advocate Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi pleading that section 2 of the law defines male child as someone below the age of 18 years and female child as someone below the age of 16 years.

The counsel argued that the law failed to punish when females below the age of 18 entered into nikkah (marriage contract) but prescribed a punishment if a male below the age of 18 contracted marriage.

He said the minimum age limit set in the law was against the basic rights of the women and discriminatory in nature. He contended that there was no scientific and religious evidence to support the claim that females were child till 16 while male was child till 18.

He argued that the minimum age for a female to contract marriage should be 18 years, similar to the age limit for male.

The counsel said as per a United Nations report, child marriages were discouraged worldwide as early motherhood was associated with poor maternal health outcomes affecting the health of the mother and the child.

He stated that article 4 of the Constitution laid down the right of every citizen to be dealt equally in accordance with law.

He said the section 2 of the law was discriminatory to the female gender, however, article 25 of the Constitution envisaged no discrimination based on gender.

Advocate Niazi argued that the Sindh government in 2013 amended the law and increased the minimum age to 18 years. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia, Morroco and Tunisia also increased the minimum age for nikkah to 18 years.

He asked the court to declare the section 2 of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 as unconstitutional for being discriminatory in nature and violates Article 25 of the Constitution.

Justice Shahid Karim issued notices to the respondents for submission of their replies within a fortnight.

Buzdar: An accountability court on Thursday allowed former chief minister Usman Buzdar a one-time exemption from the personal appearance with a last warning of withdrawing the pre-arrest bail granted to him in an inquiry into illegal assets by the National Accountability Bureau.

A lawyer for Buzdar told the court that the former chief minister could not appear due to a complaint of cardiac disease. He sought a one-time exemption from the appearance of his client.

Judge Sajjad Ahmad Sheikh expressed his displeasure and reminded the counsel that the petitioner came up with a new excuse at each hearing. However, he said the court knew the real reason for the petitioner’s non-appearance.

The judge extended Buzdar’s bail until May 23 with a last warning and directed his counsel to ensure his client joins the investigation before the NAB.

At the previous hearing, the court was told that Buzdar had gone to Dera Ghazi Khan to attend his ailing mother and could not make it to Lahore due to the blockade of roads in the province.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2023