An Act will be introduced to prevent marriages of children under 18; effective implementation will be ensured through legislation: Tufail Anjum

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Population Welfare Tufail Anjum has said that the provincial government is going to introduce an Act to prevent marriages of children under the age of 18, while the necessary legislation will also be enacted to ensure its effective implementation. Child marriage is an important social issue, and the government is taking effective measures to address it with the cooperation of all relevant institutions. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting organized by UNFPA in Peshawar on Tuesday.
Secretary Population Welfare Department Aneela Mahfooz Durrani, Director General Population Welfare Abdullah, Director Planning Imran Shah, Director Administration Salman, UNFPA National Programme Specialist Dr. Jameel Ahmad Chaudhry, and Provincial Programme Coordinator Maha Jabeen Qazi attended the meeting.
UNFPA officials briefed the meeting on ongoing activities in the health and population welfare sectors in the province and the organization’s support in these areas. The meeting was informed that UNFPA is currently spending Rs. 65 million on health and population welfare initiatives, while it is also providing technical assistance to the Population Welfare Department as well as support to address important social issues such as child marriages.
Tufail Anjum said that the government is taking comprehensive measures to ensure balanced population growth, protect the health of mothers and children, and raise public awareness. He said that, alongside legislation to prevent child marriages, creating awareness in society is also extremely important.
Appreciating UNFPA’s cooperation, he said that joint efforts by the government and international organizations would further strengthen ongoing initiatives in the fields of population welfare, health, and social protection. He directed the relevant authorities to accelerate the process of proposed legislation for preventing child marriages and take all necessary measures in this regard.