Pakistan sets minimum age of marriage for Christians at 18

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized that all minorities in Pakistan are equal citizens with equal rights, highlighting the necessity to further increase their employment quota in all government positions.

He made these remarks during a special ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr, where he signed the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 into law, raising the marriageable age for Christian men and women to eighteen years. This was stated in a press release issued on Tuesday by the President’s Secretariat Press Wing.

During the ceremony, President Zardari mentioned that he would urge the government to enhance the employment quota for minorities in all government jobs. He reassured minorities that they should not be disheartened by isolated incidents, asserting their equal ownership of the homeland.

The President approved the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 under Article 75 of the Constitution, amending Section 60 of the Christian Marriage Act of 1872. Previously, the marriageable age for Christian men and women was 16 and 13 years, respectively.

The ceremony was attended by the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony (MORA) Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs Zulfiquar Haider, members of the Christian community, and senior government officials.

Bishop Abraham Daniel expressed his gratitude to the President for signing the Act into law, noting that raising the marriageable age had been a long-standing demand of the Christian community. He also thanked President Zardari for his previous efforts in reserving a 5% quota for minorities in government jobs, allocating special seats for minorities in the Senate, and declaring August 11 as Minorities’ Day in Pakistan.

Secretary MORA Zulfiquar Haider reiterated the government’s commitment to safeguarding minority rights in line with the Constitution of Pakistan, and the vision and values of the country’s founding fathers.

Speaking about increasing the employment quota for minorities in all government jobs, the president said that he would write to the government in this regard. Highlighting equal rights for all minorities in Pakistan, he stressed that minorities should not be disheartened by some isolated group of individuals.