ISLAMABAD: In an inhuman incident, a 64-year-old lawmaker of Jamiat-Ulema-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has married a 14-year-old minor girl, raising serious questions and demands of explanation from the party leadership in the Pakistan parliament.
"Very disturbing news of an underage girl's marriage had been reported in Indian media today. The reported marriage of a JUI-F MNA with a young girl was a violation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act," he said while speaking in the Parliament session.
JUI-F's Maulana Salahuddin Ayubi, a sitting Member of National Assembly (MNA), had recently married a 14-year-old minor girl from Chitral in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has demanded the JUI-F leadership to come out with an explanation on the marriage of the lawmaker with a minor girl, terming the reported marriage as "very disturbing news".
"The government isn't investigating the matter, but the JUI-F leadership should come out and deny the incident before the House, because we and Pakistan's parliament are being ridiculed over this across the world," he added.
"Today I raised the issue of under-age marriage by a JUI MNA, I hope all sane voices in NA will take notice of this absurd act by a member of National Assembly and will join voice to seek explanation," Chaudhry tweeted.
"There was a deafening silence on the issue from the so-called champions of democracy who stand by JUI-F head Fazlur Rehman," she said.
The incident occurred earlier this month when a local organisation in Chitral filed a request with the police to conduct an inquiry into the reported marriage of an underage girl of Grade 9 with an MNA from the Balochistan province.
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