Punjab Assembly Passes Landmark Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026

The Punjab Provincial Assembly has passed the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026, enacting legislation that strengthens legal protections against the practice of child marriage in Pakistan's most populous province, in a move hailed by child rights advocates as a significant step forward in safeguarding the rights of minors.

The legislation imposes stricter age thresholds, enhanced penalties for those who facilitate or solemnise child marriages, and creates clearer accountability mechanisms for local officials who fail to enforce the law. The passage of the act through the provincial assembly represents a legislative commitment to addressing a practice that continues to affect hundreds of thousands of girls in Punjab each year.

Child marriage remains a significant social and human rights concern in Pakistan, with girls disproportionately affected. Early marriage is closely associated with school dropout, health complications from early pregnancy, and lifetime economic disadvantage. Legal reform is a necessary precondition for change, though enforcement capacity and social norm transformation are equally critical.

Advocacy organisations have broadly welcomed the legislation while cautioning that the law's real-world impact will depend on robust implementation, including training of union council officials, registration mechanisms for marriages, and functional complaint and prosecution pathways for affected families.

The Punjab government's passage of the act strengthens Pakistan's legal framework on child rights ahead of international review processes and demonstrates provincial legislative capacity to address entrenched social issues through statutory reform.