Legal Query
Can Muslim woman and a Christian man get married in Pakistan? What family law would govern their marriage?
Legal Opinion
This is one of those grey areas in Pakistani law which needs to be considered in entirety. The supreme Pakistani law, the constitution of Pakistan 1973, gives every citizen of the Pakistan the freedom of religion (article 20) which includes the right to choose one's faith.
While the statutes are more or less silent, Karachi High Court in its judgment in the matter of Muhammad Ishaq Yaqoob v. Umrao Charli 1987 CLC 410 ruled that a marriage between a Muslim woman and a Non-Muslim man is "void ab initio and invalid". Exception under Hanafi Islamic Law may be made for Muslim men marrying Ahl-e-Kitab women.
The real question is whether there is a method to protract a secular marriage under civil law in Pakistan. It must be remembered that Pakistan after 1947 took a constitutional position repeatedly that all laws enforced before the creation of Pakistan- even if considered repugnant to Islam- shall remain enforced till they are repealed or amended by a Pakistani legislature. Therefore we must consider whether a citizen of Pakistan describing himself a Muslim is some how bound to follow the Islamic law of marriage. Section 1(2) of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 states: It extends to whole of Pakistan, and applies to all Muslim citizens of Pakistan, wherever they may be.
The only course of action for such a Muslim woman thus is to
1. either convert the Non-muslim man to Islam
2. To convert to the religion of the Non-Muslim man i.e. Christian
3. Declare that she is no longer a Muslim and contract a civil marriage as a Non-Muslim citizen of Pakistan.
This is purely a legal position and is not a comment on the fairness or unfairness of these laws.
