LAHORE - A parliamentary caucus of minority lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday conducted a detailed review of the proposed Punjab Christian Marriage Bill 2026, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at replacing the colonial-era Christian marriage law of 1872 with a modern legal framework designed to better safeguard the rights of the Christian community.
The meeting of the Parliamentary Minority Caucus was chaired by its convener, MPA Falbos Christopher, and attended by all minority members of the Punjab Assembly, along with senior government representatives, religious leaders and community stakeholders. Participants included MPAs Falbos Christopher, Emmanuel Athar, Shakeela Javed, Qudsia Batool, Samreen Taj, Waseem Anjum, Maria Talal and Basro G. Also present were Punjab Chief Coordinator for Minority Affairs Raheela Khadim Hussain, PML-N Chief Whip Rana Muhammad Arshad, MPAs Owais Dreshak and Atiya Iftikhar, and Adviser to the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Usama Khawar Ghumman.
The session was also attended by prominent representatives of various Christian denominations, including Archbishop Dr Azad Marshall, Archbishop Khalid Rehmat, Father James Channan, Bishop Abraham Azim Daniel, Samuel Pyara, Romana Bashir, Reverend Azhar Mushtaq and Ms Catherine Sapna.
Welcoming the participants, Falbos Christopher appreciated their active involvement in the legislative process and stressed the importance of broad-based consultation on matters affecting minority communities. During the meeting, the proposed bill was reviewed clause by clause, and various recommendations were discussed.
Presenting the draft legislation before the caucus, Usama Khawar Ghumman briefed participants on the vision of Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan regarding the protection of minority rights and the promotion of inclusive legislation. He highlighted key legislative achievements of the Punjab Assembly over the past two years and said the proposed law would replace the outdated 1872 legislation with a contemporary legal framework.
Under the bill, the minimum age for marriage has been fixed at 18 years for both men and women, safeguards have been incorporated to ensure free and informed consent, and the system for marriage registration and record-keeping has been made more transparent and effective.
Following detailed consultations, participants expressed consensus on several important aspects of the proposed law. They emphasized the need to further refine the legislation in consultation with the Christian community, registered churches and relevant government policies to ensure that it adequately addresses contemporary requirements. The participants appreciated the objectives and significance of the bill and stressed the importance of submitting additional recommendations in writing so that they could be incorporated into the legislative process before the bill's finalization.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Raheela Khadim Hussain thanked all participants for their contributions and reaffirmed the Punjab government's commitment to protecting the rights, welfare and development of minority communities across the province.
