Why underage marriages are still prevalent in Pakistan – DW – 11/27/2022

"In October, two men in Pakistan's Baluchistan province were arrested after police were tipped off that a 5-year-old girl had been forced into a marriage contract. 

The girl's uncle said that a local man had insisted the girl marry his son, and forced her father to accept a marriage contract. 

"We insisted that she is too young to contract a marriage," the girl's uncle told DW, adding that the exchange between the two men had been filmed and then reported to police.

The local police chief said those responsible for arranging the marriage had been arrested, but the case was not closed.

"We are still trying to trace the cleric who performed the religious ceremony of the marriage contract," he said.

This is not an isolated incident. According to UNICEF, Pakistan has nearly 19 million child brides. The UN children's agency estimates that around 4.6 million were married before the age of 15 and 18.9 million before they turned 18...."