A man allegedly sold his 12-year-old daughter into marriage to a 35-year old man for a pittance in order to fund his drug habit in a small town near Risalpur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Nowshera.

As per the girl's paternal uncle, the father agreed to give his minor daughter into marriage in return for a sum of money. However, when he failed to fulfil his commitment, the other party had the man and his son detained by police.

They also managed to get the 12-year-old girl summoned to the police station, where she was told that she had to sign certain papers and give her thumb impression for the release of her father and brother.

It was later found out that the papers she had signed stated that she was willingly marrying the 35-year-old man. The girl was reportedly handed over to the man.

When the family raised a hue and cry over this, the other party threatened them with dire conseqences but the family managed to get the girl returned.

However, they say that the threat remains as the "other party" enjoyed the support of police while asking for the provincial chief minister, the chief justice and the prime minister to ensure justice prevails and the minor isn't fored into a marriage that is also illegal.

Recently the Islamabad High Court barred marriages of young children under the age of 18 years and declared it illegal, stating that the underage girls could not marry on her own will.

IHC declares marriage under 18 illegal

This is not the first case of underage marriage in the country. Pakistan has the 6th highest number of girls married before the age of 18 in the world, according to a 2020 report by UN Women.

The report titled "Child Marriage in Pakistan: A Report on Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2020" stated: "Child marriage is prevalent due to several reasons including deeply entrenched traditions and customs, poverty, lack of awareness and/or access to education, and lack of security."