Police in the Balochistan province of Pakistan have detained a man for attempting to marry off his three-year-old daughter to a 60-year-old man. The transaction, valued at 2.5 million Pakistani rupees, was reportedly conducted under a local custom known as walwar.
The 2.5 million rupee price tag for a three-year-old
Authorities in the border city of Chaman arrested a man identified as Abdul Baqi for allegedly selling his toddler daughter to a 60-year-old man named Salah Uddin. According to the BBC, the agreed price for the child was 2.5 million Pakistani rupees, which is approximately £6,802. This arrangement was framed as part of the walwar tradition, an antiquaed practice where the groom's family pays the bride's family to secure a marriage.
While the agreement was formalized on paper, the investigation revealed a gap between the contract and the cash. As reported by The Media Line, police discovered that no money had actually changed hands yet;the marriage would have been finalized only once the payment was completed. The case came to light after details of the arrangement went viral, triggering a police crackdown in Balochistan.
The connection to Shukriya Bibi's death in Kuchlak
The investigation into Abdul Baqi's actions has uncovered a more violent family history linked to the groom, Salah Uddin.. Police are currently examining whether this attempted child marriage is connected to the killing of the young girl's older sister, Shukriya Bibi, who was murdered roughly two weeks ago in Kuchlak, located on the outskirts of Quetta.
Shukriya Bibi was the daughter-in-law of Salah Uddin, and her husband has already been arrested on suspicion of her murder. While Abdul Baqi is in custody, Salah Uddin has disappeared, and Balochistan police are currently hunting for him to determine if a dispute between the two families fueled the killing of the older sister.
The Council of Islamic Ideology's opposition to the 18-year age limit
This case highlights a systemic clash between state law and religious interpretation in Pakistan. Balochistan has implemented a 2025 law that prohibits marriage for anyone under the age of 18, with adult men facing up to three years in prison and fines of 200,000 Pakistani rupees (£540) for violations. However, these legal protections are frequently undermined by powerful religious institutions.
The Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the government on whether laws align with Islamic principles, has explicitly rejected the ban on child marriage. The council argued that labeling marriages under 18 as child abuse is not in line with Islamic injunctions and suggested that public awareness campaigns would be more effective than legal punishments.
Why one in five girls in Balochistan are married under 18
The attempt to sell a three-year-old is an extreme manifestation of a broader regional crisis. UNICEF data indicates that more than 20% of girls under the age of 18 are married in Balochistan. This trend is heavily skewed by economic desperation; across Pakistan, 34% of women from lower-income households were married as children.
The persistence of child marriage in Balochistan suggests that poverty remains a primary driver, turning daughters into financial assets through traditions like walwar. while national trends show a decline in child marriage, the intersection of extreme poverty and religious opposition to age-of-consent laws creates a precarious environment for young girls in rural provinces.
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