NAUSHAHRO FEROZE — Local police halted a child marriage ceremony in a village on the outskirts of Naushahro Feroze late Tuesday night, intervening moments before the Nikah was finalized.
Officers raided the residence, acting on a tip-off from local child protection activists. They found a 14-year-old girl dressed in bridal attire, preparing to be married to a man nearly twice her age.
The police arrested the Nikahkhwan (officiant) on the spot. The groom and the girl’s father were also taken into custody as they attempted to move the ceremony to a secondary location upon hearing sirens.
“We received information that a minor was being forced into wedlock,” said a senior police official involved in the raid. “The marriage documents were already being prepared, but we stopped the process before the signatures could be finalized.”
Child marriage remains a persistent issue in rural Sindh, despite the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, which sets the legal age of marriage at 18. Convictions under the law are rare, as families often settle disputes through informal jirgas or by falsifying age documentation.
The girl has been placed under the protective custody of the local Child Protection Bureau. Medical examinations are currently underway to verify her exact age, which will determine the severity of the charges filed against the suspects.
The arrested men are expected to face charges under the provincial marriage restraint laws, which carry potential prison sentences of up to three years. For now, the police are looking into whether the family was coerced by financial incentives—a common factor in such cases—or if this was a traditional arrangement.
The investigation continues.
