A disturbing child marriage case has emerged in Pakistan’s Balochistan province after police arrested the father of a three-year-old girl who was allegedly promised in marriage to a 60-year-old man for 2.5 million Pakistani rupees.
The case came to light in Chaman, a border city near Afghanistan, and has also become linked to the death of the girl’s 15-year-old older sister, according to police reports.
Police intervene in alleged marriage
Police arrested the girl’s father, Abdul Baqi, after details of the alleged arrangement surfaced. The 60-year-old man, identified as Salah Uddin, is being sought by authorities.
Police said the arrangement involved walwar, a Pashtun custom in which money is paid by the groom or his family to the bride’s family. Authorities intervened before the full 2.5 million-rupee payment was made, meaning the alleged marriage had not taken effect in practice. The child and her mother were placed under police protection.
Older sister’s death under investigation
The case has taken a more serious turn because of the alleged killing of the three-year-old’s older sister, Shukria Bibi, 15, in Kuchlak near Quetta.
Police allege that Baqi had previously arranged Shukria’s marriage, when she was 13, to Kamran, the son of the 60-year-old man, for 1.5 million Pakistani rupees.
Police arrested Kamran on suspicion of killing Shukria. Investigators are examining whether a dispute between the two families over marriage arrangements was connected to her death.
Authorities investigate
The case has prompted renewed attention to child marriage and the practice of walwar in Balochistan. Police have registered a case and are continuing their investigation, while the alleged groom remains wanted.
The Balochistan Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2025, sets the minimum marriage age at 18 and provides criminal penalties for child marriage.