October 21, 2026
HASHIR AHSAN
ISLAMBAD
The Federal Constitutional Court has re issued notices while hearing the review petition regarding the potentially illegal nikah of an underage Christian girl Maria Shahbaz to Sheheryar, a Muslim man many years older than her.
The case was heard by a two-member bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Hasan Rizvi, which also included Justice K. K. Agha; during the hearing, the court issued important directions to the counsels of the parties.
Justice K. K. Agha remarked that this was a review case, therefore the lawyers should point out what error existed in the original judgment. On this, lawyer Saqib Jillani submitted the stance that the judicial precedents relied upon in the judgment have now changed, because the Shariat Court had delivered a new precedent which is binding on all courts. He further added that all judicial forums were bound to protect the welfare of the girl.
During the hearing, Acting Chief Justice Hasan Rizvi, while pointing out various aspects of the case, stated that the court had delivered the judgment on an appeal filed against the decision made by the High Court regarding illegal detention and the case before the Federal Court was not about the girl’s age, but was merely a matter of appeal against the High Court’s decision. He further said that if the parties had an objection regarding the girl’s age, they should have approached the Family Court.
Referring to the factual circumstances, the Acting Chief Justice stated that the girl and the boy had appeared before the court, and the girl Maria Shahbaz had given a statement in court that she was not underage but an adult.
He also pointed out that the girl’s age was not highlighted before any forum; moreover, the girl’s birth certificate was obtained after 10 years and the NADRA certificate after 8 years.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court staff informed the court that notice could not be served upon the boy, upon which Acting Chief Justice Hasan Rizvi, while directing that notices be re-issued to the girl and the boy (the married couple), adjourned the hearing.
Review Petition
In the Federal Constitutional Court, Shahbaz Masih, a resident of Lahore, has filed a review petition requesting a review of the Supreme Court’s judgment in light of the alleged forced conversion of a minor girl, underage marriage, the objectives of Islamic Shariah, and international human rights conventions.
Shahbaz Masih, Maria’s father, through Advocate Supreme Court Muhammad Saqib Jillani, filed this review petition on May 30, 2026, under Article 175(G) of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Supreme Court Rules 2025, challenging the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision dated February 3, 2026, whereby the court, while upholding the decisions of the Lahore High Court and the Additional Sessions Judge Lahore, had dismissed the petitioner’s application for the recovery of his minor daughter Maria Bibi.
The petitioner Shahbaz Masih maintains that there are patent errors and legal flaws in the Supreme Court’s judgment, which urgently require review.
Raising legal and religious points in the review petition, the stance has been taken that the court incorrectly assumed in paragraph 7 of the judgment that the petitioner’s stance was that a Christian woman cannot marry a Muslim man,
whereas the petitioner’s counsel had not presented any such point at all.
The legal question was whether a minor girl under 16 years of age can legally enter into a contract of marriage, and whether a statement under Section 164 recorded in an atmosphere of coercion and duress can have any legal standing?
The petition specifically refers to the Federal Shariat Court’s judgment “Ali Azhar v. Province of Sindh” (PLD 2023 FSC 265), in which the Child Marriage Restraint Act and the determination of the minimum age of marriage were declared entirely correct in light of Quranic verses, blessed Ahadith, and the objectives of Shariah.
Presenting a detailed review of verses from Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah An-Nisa, and Surah An-Nur of the Holy Quran and Ahadith from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the petition clarifies that in Islam, Nikah is not merely physical or sexual relations, but encompasses emotional, financial, and traditional responsibilities.
According to Fatawa-e-Alamgiri and the views of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA), intellectual maturity is generally attained well after physical puberty; therefore, under state legislation and the objectives of Shariah (Maqasid al-Shariah: preservation of life and intellect), the government holds the right to fix a minimum age limit for marriage under the principles of “Sadd al-Dharai” (prevention of harm) and “Masalih Mursalah” (public interest) to prevent social evil and discord.
Furthermore, referring to Article 203(G) of the Constitution of Pakistan, the petition states that the authority for final interpretation of Islamic and Shariah rulings rests solely with the Federal Shariat Court, and the Supreme Court should not have deviated from these decisions on Shariah matters. Simultaneously, rejecting the father’s stance based on minor age discrepancies between NADRA records and the FIR, and prioritizing the statement of a minor child over official records, has been termed a legal error.
The petitioner, citing international conventions including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), stated that forced religious conversion and forced marriages of minor girls belonging to minority communities are grave violations of international laws and fundamental human rights.
Therefore, the court has been requested to fulfill the requirements of law and justice by reviewing the judgment of February 3, 2026, setting aside all illegal orders of the lower courts, and issuing orders to hand over the minor Maria Bibi to her parents.
Background
According to the petition, the foundation of the main case is an FIR registered on July 30, 2025, at Nawab Town Police Station, Lahore, regarding the abduction of Maria Bibi.
According to Maria’s father, as per official records and NADRA documents, his daughter’s date of birth is October 7, 2012, which means that at the time of the incident her age was merely 12 years, 9 months, and 20 days, making her legally a minor and legally incompetent to enter into a marriage contract on her own.
However, the investigating officer disposed of the case based on the girl’s statement recorded under Section 164 and her marriage certificate (Nikahnama) with the accused Shehryar Ahmad, whereas the Secretary of the concerned Union Council appeared before the Sessions Court and explicitly refused to accept the registration and correctness of the Nikahnama.