The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the relevant authorities to register Christian marriages in the country, a private TV channel reported.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar passed the order while hearing a case. The apex court directed all the union councils to ensure registration of marriages of the Christian community. It also ordered the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to issue computerised marriage certificates to the Christian couples. The court further instructed the Punjab government to enact legislation to ensure timely registration of the marriages.
Last year in September, the bench had reserved the verdict after lawyers representing the petitioners and respondents concluded their arguments. During the hearings, a representative of the Christian community had regretted that the union councils were the competent authority to register births, deaths and marriages but they refused to register marriages of the Christian community members.
In March 2017, Pakistan formally implemented the Hindu Marriage Act, 2017, aimed at protecting marriages and safeguarding the legitimate rights of Hindus in Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, January 17th 2019.
