GETTY The proposed bill would have raised the age girls can be married at to 18

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The proposed bill would have handed out harsh punishments to anyone who married a minor while raising the minimum age for girls to 18. But Marvi Memon of the Pakistan Muslim League party was forced to withdraw the proposal after facing staunch opposition - with the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) slamming the plans.

GETTY Pakistan's leading party had proposed tougher punishments in cases of child marriage

CII chairman Mohammad Khan Sheerani went on to claim the move contradicted Islamic teachings. He said: “Parliament cannot create legislation that is against the teachings of the Holy Quran or Sunnah.” The group, who unanimously rejected the proposal on “purely religious grounds”, have also claimed the country’s current child marriage laws are not compliant with Islamic teachings – and want it lowered.

GETTY The Pakistani ruling party were forced to shelve the bill

Pakistani rules stipulate that the legal age for marriage is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Last year the CII stated that under Islamic Law girls as young as nine were suitable for marriage if “the signs of puberty are visible”.