A proposed law to give full legal recognition and protection to Sikh marriages in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been reviewed by lawmakers, government officials and representatives of the Sikh community at a consultation held here.
The meeting earlier this week discussed the key provisions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sikh Anand Kaaraj Bill, 2026, its current status and the remaining steps before it can be presented to the provincial assembly, said Gurpal Singh, vice chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Minorities and a member of the provincial assembly. Participants were told that the proposed legislation would go beyond the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, which mainly provided legal recognition to marriages performed according to the Sikh Anand Kaaraj ceremony. Muhammad Saeed-ur-Rehman, local government focal person for family laws, briefed the meeting on the legislative process. The bill also makes registration of Sikh marriages compulsory and proposes licensing Anand Kaaraj Registrars through the local government, elections and rural development department.
He said that after vetting by the law department, the bill would be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation. Anand Kaaraj is the traditional Sikh marriage ceremony, performed according to Sikh religious traditions and centred on the recitation of the four ‘Laavaan’ in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Qamar Naseem, member of the bill’s drafting committee, said the organisation had provided technical support to the local government department and the Parliamentary Caucus on Minorities in preparing and reviewing the proposed legislation.
After approval by the committee, the bill would be placed before the provincial cabinet and subsequently presented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for consideration.
