GENEVA:  Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), addressed the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, calling on Pakistan to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of its child-marriage laws and take urgent measures to protect girls from child and forced marriage.

In his speech Naveed Walter highlighted recent legislative proceed which establishes 18 as the minimum marriage age for both girls and boys, and the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2026.

“Pakistan has made important changes in legislation,” Walter said. “But these laws are now being tested, as religious parties have challenged them on the grounds that they are contrary to the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The real test will be whether these laws are enforced consistently and whether the courts and public institutions protect every child.”

Naveed Walter expressed concern over continuing legal uncertainty surrounding marriages involving girls under 18, including cases where statutory child-marriage protections come into tension with interpretations of personal or religious law.

He highlighted recent judicial developments in which courts have adopted divergent approaches, particularly in cases involving the determination of a girl’s age, where official age documentation and NADRA records have played a significant role. He also discussed the instances in which judges have defined puberty with reference to Sharia principles and classical Islamic legal thought.

“What is not documented cannot be prosecuted”, Walter also raised concerns about cases involving girls from religious-minority communities, including allegations of abduction, forced conversion and child marriage. He stressed that every allegation must be investigated through due process and that the best interests, safety and fundamental rights of the child must remain paramount.

According to UNICEF, Pakistan has one of the world's largest populations of child brides, with millions of women having been married before reaching the age of 18.

Walter argued that the number of cases appearing in the media or reaching courts should not be mistaken for the actual scale of the problem.

“The laws existed; they were simply ignored. The challenge now is enforcement.”

Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), called for stronger implementation and enforcement of Pakistan’s child-marriage laws in relevant judicial proceedings. He urged authorities to introduce mandatory age verification through CNIC, B-Form, and NADRA records before marriage registration; publish nationwide enforcement data annually, including complaints, FIRs, prosecutions, and convictions; and harmonize relevant personal and family laws to ensure that children subjected to coerced marriages have access to effective legal remedies and protection.

Naveed Walter also urged the UN Human Rights Council and its Member States to raise the issues during Pakistan’s human-rights review processes. He called on the international community to put one specific question to Pakistan: “How will you resolve the conflict between ‘puberty’ and ‘eighteen’ in your courts?”

HRFP further advocated stronger monitoring of child-marriage enforcement through international human-rights and trade-related review mechanisms, including GSP+, with measurable indicators such as marriages prevented from registration, prosecutions initiated, and secured convictions.

Concluding his statement, Naveed Walter said, “Pakistan's written laws now need defenders in the courts, in the concerned departments, and in forums like this one.” He reaffirmed HRFP’s commitment to documenting violations and advocating for the effective protection of children and vulnerable communities, adding, “Human Rights Focus Pakistan will keep documenting. We ask you to keep asking.”

During side event by Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD), Ms Ai Kihara-Hunt (Special Rapporteur), Ms Haina Lu (Working Group), Ms Alejandra Martinez (UN Team Coordinator) and others also spoke.