Senate Standing Committee on Interior Monday approved Child Marriage Restraint Bill after thorough discussion on the matter.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Rehman Malik here at the Parliament House. The chairman observed that in Islam, age for marriage of a girl was not fixed, while the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had fixed the age of 18 years. The committee noted that the United Nations and other international organisations wanted that the marriage age for girls should be fixed at eighteen years.
Senator Rehman Malik said the age for voting and making of identity card was also 18 years. The committee members observed that the problems related to under-age marriage should be taken into account before making of any law. The committee held voting on the Child Marriage Restraint Bill and Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, Senator Tahir Mashhadi and Senator Shibli Faraz supported the bill.
As the majority members present in the committee supported the bill, committee chairman Senator Rehman Malik approved the bill. Under the bill, the age of marriage for girls would be increased from 16 to 18 years.
The chairman said the committee paid tributes to martyred Captain Hasnain Nawaz and other martyrs. He said, “We are proud of the sacrifices of martyrs of Pakistan Army and other law-enforcement institutions.” The committee also prayed for the martyred.
The chairman said terrorism was a menace and the nation would have to eradicate this threat. He suggested that financial assistance for the heirs of the martyrs should be increased. The committee approved the Protection against Witchcraft Bill 2017.
Senator Rehman Malik said before this bill, there was no law to protect against witchcraft and now the criminals who exploited the people would be punished. He appreciated the efforts of Senator Chaudhry Tanveer for preparing the bill. The Senate committee also approved the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2017.
