PESHAWAR, July 20: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has passed the Kalash Marriage Bill 2026, introducing a legal framework for marriages within the Kalash community, ARY News reported.
Under the new law, a marriage will only be valid if it is entered into with the free consent of both parties. The bill also requires both individuals to be mentally fit, at least 18 years of age, and not fall within prohibited degrees of relationship.
The legislation bans first-cousin marriages within the Kalash community.
It also makes the registration of every Kalash marriage mandatory through a designated local registrar. Records of marriages, divorces and marriage dissolutions will be maintained by the relevant government offices.
According to the Kalash Marriage Bill 2026, matters related to divorce, khula, and the dissolution of marriage will be decided in line with Kalash customs and traditions.
The law further states that inheritance rights following the death of a husband will be determined under the community’s traditional system.
The legislation provides penalties, including fines and legal action, for violations, submission of false information, or failure to register a marriage.
Earlier, UNESCO had inscribed the Kalash valleys in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district on its World Heritage Tentative List.
According to UNESCO, the Kalasha Cultural Landscape represents an exceptionally well-preserved and continuously inhabited high-mountain cultural environment. It is located in the remote valleys of Bumburet Valley, Rumbur Valley and Birir Valley in the Hindu Kush range.
These valleys are geographically isolated and surrounded by rugged mountainous terrain, which has significantly helped preserve the distinct cultural identity of the Kalasha people.
Over centuries, the landscape has evolved through a deeply rooted and interdependent relationship between the Kalasha community, their traditional belief system, settlement patterns and the natural environment.
UNESCO noted that the cultural landscape is not a static remnant of the past or an archaeological site frozen in time. Instead, it is a dynamic, living system where daily life, rituals, agriculture and community governance continue to follow long-established traditions. The tangible and intangible aspects of heritage remain closely interconnected, reinforcing one another and sustaining a resilient cultural ecosystem.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi termed the development a “proud moment” for Pakistan.
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