Punjab Raises Marriage Age to 18, Exposing Pakistan’s Fractured Legal Landscape on Child Marriage

Key facts

• Punjab Assembly passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026, raising the minimum marriage age to 18 for both boys and girls.
• Sindh has maintained a minimum age of 18 since 2014, with enforceable penalties that survived Federal Shariat Court review.
• Balochistan enacted legislation in 2025 raising the legal age to 18 and introducing penalties for facilitators.
• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa still operates under the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, where the minimum age for girls is 16.
• Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also retain the 1929 Act's threshold of 16 for girls.
• The legal patchwork means a girl deemed a child in Karachi can be legally married in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
• Advocates call for a national consensus—through parliamentary legislation or judicial direction—to establish 18 as a non-negotiable minimum age across Pakistan.

A Landmark Vote in Punjab

The Punjab Assembly has passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026, raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls and criminalizing violations with stronger penalties. The legislation marks a significant step toward a rights-based framework in Pakistan’s most populous province. Yet the law’s passage also exposes the deep fragmentation of the country’s legal regime on child marriage. While Punjab now aligns with international standards, the federation remains a patchwork of inconsistent statutes that allow the practice to persist in other jurisdictions.

Sindh and Balochistan: Progressive Precedents

Sindh has, since 2014, maintained the most progressive position, setting 18 as the minimum age for both genders and criminalizing child marriage with enforceable penalties. That law has survived legal scrutiny, including review by the Federal Shariat Court, strengthening its legitimacy. Balochistan has also moved in the same direction. Its 2025 legislation raised the legal age to 18 and introduced penalties for facilitators, signalling a shift in a province where enforcement challenges remain significant, but intent is now clearer.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: The Outlier Province

The real outlier is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Despite repeated attempts, legislation to raise the age has stalled. As a result, the province still largely operates under the colonial-era Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, where the minimum age for girls remains 16. The same outdated threshold continues to apply in several other jurisdictions, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This patchwork creates a legal absurdity: a girl deemed a child in Karachi or Quetta can still be legally married in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The Consequences of Legal Fragmentation

Child marriage in Pakistan has never been sustained by law alone. Instead, it has survived because the law itself has remained fractured. The passage of the Punjab bill is therefore significant for what it exposes across the federation: a deeply uneven legal regime that enables the practice to continue. Inconsistent laws ensure that child marriage persists. While Punjab’s move is a step in the right direction, laws alone will not end the practice without a unified national framework.

Calls for National Consensus

Advocates argue that a national consensus—whether through parliamentary legislation or judicial direction—must establish 18 as a non-negotiable minimum age across Pakistan. The current patchwork not only undermines legal coherence but also leaves millions of girls vulnerable to early marriage. The Punjab bill, while welcome, underscores the urgent need for federal action. Without it, the legal absurdity of varying age thresholds will continue to undermine efforts to protect children across the country.

The bottom line

• Punjab’s new law sets the minimum marriage age at 18 for both sexes, with criminal penalties for violations.
• Sindh and Balochistan have already adopted similar progressive laws, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa lags behind with a colonial-era threshold of 16 for girls.
• Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also retain the 1929 Act, creating a fragmented legal landscape.
• A girl can be legally married at 16 in some parts of Pakistan while being protected at 18 in others.
• Advocates call for a national law or judicial ruling to establish a uniform minimum age of 18 across all jurisdictions.