KARACHI: The new Christian Marriage Law in Pakistan has come into force under which a youth has been sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for contracting second marriage.
The judicial magistrate east Karachi also fined the young man Rs.25,000. According to the case details, J. Ilyas had married a woman identified as Easter a year ago and sent her to Dubai. When she came back, it transpired that her husband had contracted second marriage, which is illegal under the Christian law.
The court ruled that if the man did not pay the fine, he would undergo an additional two months imprisonment. The woman had registered a case against her husband in the Mehmoodabad police station.
It may be noted that experts as well as religious scholars and political leaders have expressed the resolve to strive collectively for the enactment of upgraded ‘Christian Marriage and Divorce Law’. They stress the need for upgrading the divorce law of 1869 and the marriage law implemented in 1872.