QUETTA: A senior leader of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Sana Durrani, has urged the provincial government to move the Prevent Child Marriages bill in the provincial assembly for legislation as soon as possible.

Speaking at a joint press conference, along with representatives of different NGOs, including Robina Rizwan, Ms Samreen, Abdul Sattar Baloch, Gul Khan Naseer and Zia Baloch, Ms Durrani said that NGOs have played a leading role in the campaign for this bill to be presented.

She said that the bill was discussed in the assembly by members from both sides and the majority of the elected representatives agreed to go ahead with it. The only point of contention among some of them, she said, was on the matter of the points on the age limits of girls the bill addressed.

Ms Durrani said that the bill was about to be passed in the assembly but because it was the end of its tenure, the bill remained pending. She said that Balochistan was notorious for child marriages, which causes a high child mortality rate.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018