Police arrest two in raid at Khairpur child marriage gathering

KHAIRPUR: Police conducted raid at a wedding gathering arresting two accused involved in marriage of a minor girl with 38-year old man, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The police raided Saleem Shar village in Khairpur district after informed about a child marriage in the village where an underage girl was being married with 48-year old Abdul Karim Shar, SHO said.

Police arrested a brother of bridegroom Allahdino Shar and Rabel Shar in a timely raid at the gathering.

An FIR has been registered against four accused including bridegroom Abdul Karim Shar, his brother Allahdino Shar, a relative of the groom and father of the child bride, SSP of the area said.

The issue of child marriage is rampant in Sindh, despite a legislation passed by the provincial legislature.

The Sindh government takes credit for becoming the country’s first elected assembly to have passed a bill on child marriages, which places a ban on marriage of children under 18 years and makes its a violation punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to three years, but the law is still poorly enforced.

The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, a landmark piece of legislation, was aimed at ending early marriages in Sindh.