Police arrest bride, groom for underage marriage

NOWSHEHRU FEROZE: A couple involved in an underage marriage in Mehrabpur has been arrested by the police, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to local authorities, 22-year-old Basi Rajpar was married to 12-year-old Sania.

The police conducted a raid and detained both the bride and groom and registered a case against them.

The parents of the couple have also been named in the case, and efforts are underway to apprehend them along with other individuals involved, including the witnesses.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government has taken an important step to stop underage marriages in the country.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony constituted a high-level committee comprising experts and clerics following the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sources told ARY News that the committee will be headed by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Qibla Ayaz while its members included notable clerics and experts from different schools of thought.

The committee will mull over determining the minimum age for marriage and steps to curb underage marriages. The committee will forward its recommendations to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony which will send them to the federal cabinet for its approval.