Child marriage in Pakistan has never been sustained by law alone. Instead, it has survived because the law itself has remained fractured. The passage of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 by the Punjab Assembly is therefore significant for what it exposes across the federation, which is a deeply uneven legal regime.

Punjab's decision to raise the minimum age to 18 for both boys and girls and criminalise violations with stronger penalties brings it closer to a rights-based........

© The Express Tribune