Punjab moves to enforce 18 as legal marriage age

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government and Community Development has set the minimum legal age of marriage for boys and girls across the province at 18 years.

The committee unanimously passed the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026, under which the previous provision of keeping the minimum age of marriage for girls at 16 years has been abolished.

According to the proposed law, child marriage has been declared a police-enforceable, non-bailable and non-consensual offence, which will enable immediate police action and will not allow out-of-court settlements.

The bill states that persons facilitating child marriage, including adult spouses, parents or guardians, marriage registrars or other assistants, can face imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 1 million.

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In addition, living together after such a marriage has been declared child abuse, which will be punished more severely, and the courts have been instructed to decide such cases within 90 days.

During the meeting, the committee directed the Secretary Local Government to prepare a draft of rules and regulations under this bill within 60 days and submit it for approval.

According to the committee, this law has been introduced to prevent child marriages, eliminate gender inequality and strengthen child protection.

The meeting was held in the Punjab Assembly under the chairmanship of MPA Muhammad Ashraf Rasool, in which the provincial minister for local government and officials of the relevant departments participated.