LAHORE: The Punjab Local Government Department has imposed a set of new restrictions and eligibility conditions on Nikah Registrars in a bid to curb underage marriages and make the province’s marriage registration system more effective.
Under the new rules, no Nikah Registrar will be allowed to register a marriage solemnised outside his designated jurisdiction, and a registrar will also be barred from handing over his register to anyone else. The local government department has issued a formal notification, and implementation has begun, according to officials.
The department has made formal qualification mandatory for appointment as a Nikah Registrar. Candidates will have to appear for an interview and pass an examination on marriage-related laws and rules, scoring at least 90 percent.
The ability to use the internet and a mobile phone has also been made compulsory. Anyone unable to operate the digital system will not be appointed as a Nikah Registrar, according to the Punjab government.
In addition, a person against whom a criminal case has been registered will be ineligible for appointment.
The new rules require a registrar to complete the registration of a nikah within seven days and submit it to the relevant union council. The marriage certificate can then be obtained from the union council within 15 days.
Officials said the digital requirements are meant to create a traceable record of each registration, making it harder to tamper with entries after the fact.
The office of the Nikah Registrar dates back to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961. Before that law, there was no formal system of registrars. Registration was introduced so that every marriage would be recorded, allowing authorities to check, among other things, whether a man already had a wife — since the ordinance requires permission from an arbitration council before a second marriage.
Over the years, however, some registrars were found to have committed irregularities, including registering the marriages of underage girls despite legal restrictions. Under the new arrangement, a regular system of checks and balances is being put in place, officials said. Registrations will be scrutinised to verify the bride’s age and to ensure that no false identity or document number has been entered that could amount to forgery.
Punjab’s child marriage law sets 16 as the minimum age of marriage for girls and 18 for boys, and those who solemnise or facilitate an underage marriage, including registrars, can face prosecution. Rights groups have long urged the province to raise the minimum age for girls to 18, as Sindh and the Islamabad Capital Territory have done. The issue returned to the courts recently when the Lahore High Court ordered a fresh probe into a Lahore child marriage case.
Observers have welcomed the move, saying every system needs checks and balances so that anyone doing something wrong knows there are people watching. But they also point to a familiar pattern: restrictions are often introduced only after a problem comes to light, and enforcement tends to fade once the initial attention passes. Sustained monitoring, they say, will decide whether the new rules make a lasting difference.
The rules will also place fresh responsibilities on union councils, which receive and certify registrations — offices that are expected to take on a larger role once Punjab’s local body elections are held.
The practical changes are comprised of a nikah must be registered by the registrar of the area where it takes place, the paperwork must reach the union council within a week, and the certificate should be available within 15 days. Families are advised to ensure the registrar enters accurate details from the CNICs or B-forms of both parties, since the new checks will focus closely on age and identity records.
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