LAHORE: To prevent underage marriages and streamline official record-keeping, the Punjab Local Government and Community Department (LG&CD) has decided to enforce new guidelines and qualification criteria for the appointment and operation of nikah registrars across the province.

Under the new regulatory framework, nikah registrars will be strictly prohibited from registering any marriages outside their designated territorial jurisdictions. To ensure professional standards, candidates seeking appointment must be fully qualified and achieve a minimum score of 90 per cent in a mandatory marriage law examination.

As per officials, proficiency in digital tools is now essential, and candidates must be able to operate a mobile phone and use the internet to qualify for the posts.

Furthermore, registrars are now legally required to submit details of marriage registrations to their respective union councils within seven days.

Christian Marriage Act to be amended

The department has also barred the persons having active criminal record or pending legal charges from being appointed as nikah registrar.

Christian Marriage Act

A technical committee constituted on the directions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has reached a consensus on introducing amendments to the Christian Marriage Act in the Punjab Assembly.

The second meeting of the committee chaired by Minister for Minorities Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, reviewed proposed amendments to the Christian Marriage Act, recommendations of sub-committee and various aspects of bringing Christian personal laws in line with contemporary legal requirements.

The committee also approved the introduction of an online registration system for Christian marriages to improve transparency, eliminate irregularities in marriage records and ensure better protection of legal records of Christian families.

The meeting also approved the provision of religious education and examination facilities for prisoners belonging to minorities.

A committee was also constituted to develop a mechanism for providing the members of minority communities with religious education, examination facilities and to nominate certified teachers for this purpose.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2026