The Supreme Court of Pakistan has strongly upheld the obligation of husbands to fulfill the haq mehr, a financial entitlement for wives in Islamic marriages.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, responding to Khalid Parvez’s challenge to this Shariah provision, issued a three-page verdict underscoring the legal and Shariah sanctity of haq mehr.
The court emphasized that haq mehr is a protected requirement under Pakistani law, and in cases where the marriage contract doesn’t specify a time for payment, women have the right to demand it at any point.
This case, reaching the Supreme Court after six years, exposed the complainant’s persistent challenges to the haq mehr provision in various courts. The verdict, dismissing Parvez’s plea, pointed out that if lower courts had penalized him earlier, it might not have reached the Supreme Court.
Notably, in the case’s last hearing, the SC imposed a Rs100,000 fine on Parvez. This landmark decision solidifies the legal standing of haq mehr, affirming its significance in protecting women’s rights within the framework of Islamic and Pakistani law.