Police in Pakistan have arrested a father after he allegedly arranged the marriage of his three-year-old daughter to a 60-year-old man.
The incident occurred in Chaman, a city in Pakistan’s Balochistan province near the Afghan border, after authorities received information about the alleged arrangement.
The father, identified as Abdul Baqi, reportedly agreed to receive 2.5 million Pakistani rupees, about £6,800, from the prospective groom, identified as Salah Uddin, in exchange for the child’s hand in marriage.
According to police, the arrangement was made under a local tradition known as “walwar”, in which money is paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s family as part of a marriage arrangement.
However, authorities said the agreement had only been completed on paper when they intervened, as the agreed money had not yet been paid. The three-year-old girl and her mother were subsequently placed under police protection.
Police are searching for the alleged groom, Salah Uddin, who reportedly went into hiding after the authorities became aware of the arrangement.
The investigation has also expanded to examine a possible connection between the case and the recent death of the girl’s older sister, Shukria Bibi, who died about two weeks earlier.
According to reports, Shukria had previously been married to Salah Uddin’s son. Police arrested her husband on suspicion of killing her and are investigating whether a dispute between the two families may have been connected to her death.
The case has renewed attention on child marriage in Balochistan. A 2025 law in the province set the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 and provides criminal penalties for adults who enter into child marriages, as well as for people who facilitate such unions.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the alleged marriage arrangement and the circumstances surrounding the death of the girl’s older sister.
