Child Wedding: Police arrest parents of 7-year-old girl

Police arrested parents of a seven-year-old girl who were marrying her off to a 17-year-old.

SARGODHA: Bhalwal Police, on Thursday, arrested parents of a seven-year-old girl who were marrying her off to a 17-year-old. Officials said that Khizar Hayat had made all arrangements to wed his young daughter to a relative. Police, on a tip-off, raided Hayat’s house while the family was waiting for the wedding party. Hayat and his wife were arrested and their seven-year-old daughter was taken into protective custody. Hayat, during interrogation, told the police that he was only going to sign the marriage contract (nikkah nama) on Thursday and that he had no plans of handing his daughter over until she became an adult.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2011.