Blood tests now to be part of Nikkahnama

PESHAWAR: In a move to protect and promote healthy marriages, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has requested a two-month extension to implement the compulsory blood screening tests including thalassemia, hepatitis, and AIDS, to be added to the nikahnama marriage contract form.

This is intended to check the spread of these diseases and secure the future generations from them. The Peshawar High Court has adjourned the further hearings till May 25, directing a report from the provincial government.

The petition was brought forth by Advocate Muhammad Nasir Ghilzai, contending that testing for inherited blood diseases has to be done before the issuance of marriage certificates; otherwise, it would open floodgates of these diseases among future generations.

The government has also directed all related stakeholders, from marriage registrars to relevant bureaucrats, about training on the new regulation.

About six to seven percent of the population of Pakistan suffers because of hereditary blood diseases, including thalassemia, cousin marriages being a primary precipitant.

The revised nikahnama to incorporate pre-marriage blood tests as mandatory is now ready. The government, however, believes it would take a further two months to circulate this form to the Union Councils.