The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed a 15-year-old girl, Madiha Bibi, to live with her husband despite ruling that child marriage is a punishable offense under the law.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued the detailed judgment in the underage marriage case, observing that while marriage after puberty is valid under Shariah, the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 criminalizes marriage below the age of 18.
The judgment revealed that the girl’s age was recorded as nearly 18 years in the marriage certificate, but NADRA records confirmed she is only 15.
During her testimony, Madiha refused to return to her parents and repeatedly expressed her wish to stay with her husband, both in court and while staying at a crisis center.
The court recommended that the government strengthen NADRA’s verification system to prevent registration of underage marriages and directed that marriage registrars must not register marriages of brides under 18.
