Lawmakers in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly have introduced a bill aiming to institute better marriage laws for the province’s Christian community.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Christian Marriage Bill intends to repeal the 154-year-old Christian Marriage Act of 1872, implementing a legal framework for the solemnization, registration, regulation and legal recognition of Christian marriages in the province.
It was submitted by Shazia Tehmas Khan, a legislator from the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP). The bill is the product of extensive consultations with church leaders, Christian elders, legal experts, civil society organizations and human rights stakeholders.
It was also a joint effort, involving Khan, the rights organization Blue Veins, and the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).
The drafters say the legislation is grounded in biblical values and Christian traditions while remaining fully consistent with Pakistan’s Constitution and contemporary legal standards.
“This bill is a historic step toward ensuring equal rights, dignity and legal protection for the Christian community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Khan said after submitting the legislation to the provincial assembly secretariat.
The bill proposes that all laws pertaining to Christian marriage be aligned with Pakistan’s constitutional guarantees, contemporary administrative practices and the needs of the province’s Christian community, all while respecting the religious traditions of the various churches and denominations.
It also introduces stronger safeguards against child marriage, forced marriage, coercion, fraud, misrepresentation and unlawful solemnization. These have been pressing issues in a country where the majority of the population (approximately 96.35%) are Muslim, while according to their last census, in 2023 approximately 1.37% % are Christians. In recent times Christian and rights groups have advocated in cases such as these, leading nationwide protests and rallies.
In addition, the law, if passed, would require that physical and electronic records about marriage be securely maintained. This would improve coordination with civil registration authorities, such as the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), and legal certainty for Christian families.
The proposed legislation further safeguards the legitimacy and legal rights of children, strengthens oversight of marriage registrars and ordained ministers through greater regulatory accountability, and introduces measures to prevent fraudulent practices.
It also provides that anyone who solemnizes, conducts, facilitates, promotes or knowingly permits the marriage of a minor would be prosecuted under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Marriage Restraint Act, with the penalties, fines and trial procedures prescribed under that law applying directly to such offenses.
Rizwanullah Shah, provincial coordinator of the National Commission for Human Rights, has since said that she is pleased that the commission’s Sub-Committee on Minority Rights “have contributed to shaping this important legislative reform for the Christian community.”
Meanwhile, Qamar Naseem of Blue Veins said the law strengthens legal protections and addresses the practical needs of Christian families.”
