PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has issued notices to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and some of its officials, ordering them to respond to a petition for the effective introduction of the updated nikahnama and the enforcement of a law on premarital screening for thalaessaemia and hepatitis C.

The order was issued by a bench consisting of Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah after preliminary hearing into the petition jointly filed by Nida Gul Ghilzai and nine other activists of Shirkat Gah, a women’s resource centre.

The petitioners requested the court to order the immediate implementation of the updated nikahnama across the province for marriage registrations.

They also sought the court’s orders for the government to ensure the effective implementation of the Preventive Healthcare Act, 2009, regarding premarital screening for thalassaemia and hepatitis C.

Petition also calls for premarital thalaessaemia, hepatitis screening

The petitioners requested the court to order respondents to arrange free testing in all major hospitals in the province, including those in tehsil headquarters, and ensure blood test results are mentioned in the nikahnama and produced before marriage solemnisation.

Advocate Mohammad Nasir Ghilzai appeared for the petitioners and said that the provincial government recently introduced the updated format for nikahnama to ensure better documentation and protection of the rights of the would-be couples.

He said that despite the issuance of the new nikahnama, the government and relevant departments had failed to introduce it across the province, causing “confusion and inconsistency” in marriage contract documentation.

The lawyer claimed that in some areas, unapproved nikahnamas were used, with authorities being unaware of it.

He said that most nikah registrars in local councils lacked knowledge of nikahnama columns and clauses, so crucial information was entered wrong columns causing confusion for litigants in cases pending with family courts.

The counsel pointed out that the petitioners had repeatedly approached authorities for the implementation of updated nikahnama but didn’t get satisfactory response.

He added that there had been a significant delay in the distribution of new marriage contract forms to all relevant offices, leading to the continued reliance on outdated formats.

Mr Ghilzai said that despite the passage of around 15 years, the Preventive Healthcare Act, 2009, meant for certain premarital preventive measures against diseases had not been implemented.

He pointed out that under the law, the nikah registrars should obtain reports of premarital test reports for both couples-to-be, including those of screening thalassaemia and hepatitis C.

The lawyer said that the registrars should retain those reports for at least two years after marriages were made.

He added that if those conditions were violated or registrars failed to preserve the reports, their licences should be revoked under the law.

Mr Ghilzai added if any person other than the nikah registrar conducted a marriage and violated those conditions, they were bound by the law to be fined Rs10,000 each.

The respondents in the petition include the provincial government through its chief secretary and the secretaries of the home, law, health, local government, finance, social welfare and religious affairs departments.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2024