Police in a suburban village of Daska on Thursday arrested a 50-year-old man for forcibly marrying a 12-year-old girl and registered a case against him under the Child Marriage Act, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Police said that by marrying a child, Afzal Malang had violated the Child Marriage Act.
The marriage has shocked the residents of Tooti Chak.
Police have said they are determined to bring Malang to justice since the exploitation of minor girls could not be tolerated.
On April 27, the Punjab Assembly had passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026, which set 18 years as the minimum legal age for marriage for both boys and girls and declared underage marriage a non-bailable offence.
The bill was presented in the assembly by Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman.
Previously, the minimum legal age for marriage in Punjab was 18 years for men and 16 years for women under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.
That, however, changed with the promulgation of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 as an ordinance by Punjab Governor Saleem Haider in February.
The ordinance, however, was to lapse in May — 90 days after its promulgation — and hence, the legislation needed the Punjab Assembly’s approval to remain in effect.
Reporter: Muhammad Chand Malik