Web desk: JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah has triggered fresh controversy by openly rejecting Pakistan’s new law that sets 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage.
Speaking to the media outside Parliament House, Hamdullah said he would defy the law if angered and claimed he would marry a 16 year old girl as an act of protest. He also called on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to organize mass weddings across all four provinces for young people who have reached puberty but are under 18.
Hamdullah said his party would not accept any legislation it believes goes against the Quran and Sunnah. His remarks echo recent statements by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who strongly opposed the child marriage law during a joint session of Parliament. Fazlur Rehman called the law un-Islamic and argued that lawmakers should have sent it to the Council of Islamic Ideology for review. He accused the government of passing the legislation under international pressure and announced plans to protest the move.
The controversy follows the signing of the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025 by President Asif Ali Zardari. The law sets 18 as the minimum marriage age for both men and women in Islamabad and introduces jail terms and fines for those who arrange or conduct underage marriages.
Parliament passed the bill unanimously after years of advocacy by women’s rights groups and lawmakers.
