70-year-old man marries 13-year-old girl in Swat, arrest follows

SWAT: Police arrested a 70-year-old man in Swat’s Nagoha area, Barikot, for marrying a 13-year-old girl without her knowledge.

Sources report that the marriage ceremony took place on Sunday without the girl’s presence. The sixth-grade student was shocked to discover her marriage upon returning to school.

The man, a father and grandfather to eight children, reportedly paid the girl’s parents Rs1 million for the marriage. Authorities issued a marriage certificate signed by witnesses to formalize the union.

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Police, alerted to the incident, detained the groom, the girl’s father, the marriage officiant, and witnesses. DSP Barikot Sher Hasan from Azaad Digital confirmed the arrests and added that authorities conducted a medical exam on the minor.

The Azaad Digital team obtained the marriage certificate.

Despite updates, Pakistan still enforces the outdated 1929 Marriage Restraint Act, which sets the minimum marriage age at 16 for girls and 18 for boys.