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ISLAMABAD- The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) ruled today that Pakistani laws prohibiting marriage of underage children are un-Islamic. At the end of its two-day session today, the CII said there is no minimum age of marriage according to Islam.

“Islam does not forbid marriage of young children,” the council said. “However, the consummation of marriage is only allowed when both husband and wife have reached puberty.”

The CII's ruling comes a day after its chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani said laws regarding second marriage of a man in the presence of a first wife were against religious principles. "Sharia allows men to have more than one wife and we demanded that the government should amend the law," he told reporters after a CII meeting.

Pakistani law requires a man to have written approval from his existing wife or wives for another marriage. Sheerani urged the government to formulate Sharia-compliant laws related to marriage, divorce, adulthood and 'will'. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the CII is a recommendatory body that advises the parliament in the law-making process, but cannot enact laws on its own.



