- An accomplice to a crime of domestic violence will be liable to the same penalty.
- Courts have the power to issue safety orders and grant custody.
- Domestic violence is defined as physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
Parliament on Saturday passed a bill making threats of remarriage or divorce against a wife punishable by up to three years in prison.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MP Sharmila Faruqui introduced the bill titled ‘Domestic Violence (Protection and Prevention) Act, 2026’, aimed at providing legal protection against abuse in domestic relations in Islamabad.
The law defines domestic violence as any physical, sexual or psychological abuse committed against a woman, man, transgender person, child or other vulnerable person.
According to the bill, psychological and verbal abuse includes, but is not limited to, the repeated display of obsessive jealousy causing repeated infringement of the victim’s privacy, liberty, integrity and safety; insults or mockery against the injured person; threats of causing physical harm to the spouse or other members of the common household; and threats of divorce or second marriage based on baseless accusations of insanity or infertility.
False allegations about the character of a woman or any member of the shared household; voluntary or negligent abandonment of the injured person; track down; harassment; and forcing the woman to cohabit with someone other than her husband also constitutes domestic violence, the content of the bill indicates.
The legislation provides that any offense committed within domestic relations will be punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
“If the offense does not fall under the [PPC]“, the act of domestic violence will be punished with simple imprisonment for a maximum period of three years and at least six months depending on the seriousness of the act of domestic violence committed, and a fine of Rs 100,000 and minimum of Rs 20,000 will also be paid as compensation to the aggrieved person,” the bill reads.
If the fine is not paid, the court may impose a simple prison sentence of three months, while the perpetrator of an offense of domestic violence will also be punished with the same penalty provided for the offense.
Additionally, the bill defines physical violence as any act committed physically against a vulnerable person, while sexual violence is defined in the bill as any act of a sexual nature that violates or humiliates the person concerned.
The bill allows an affected person to apply to the court, which must hold the first hearing within seven days and decide on the application within 90 days. The person concerned will have the right to reside in the shared home or may choose to live in a foster home.
Courts will be empowered to issue protection orders ordering the accused not to repeat acts of violence and to refrain from any personal, verbal, written, electronic or telephone contact with the person concerned.
The court may also require the accused to maintain a specified distance from the victim.
In cases where there is a serious risk to the life, reputation or dignity of the person concerned, the court may order the accused to leave the house. The court may also prohibit the accused’s relatives from entering the residence and order the relevant police station to provide protection.
Under the new law, the court can also order the accused to pay rent and other expenses, meet the financial needs of the affected person, return property or valuables, and award compensation for economic abuse, job loss, and medical expenses.
Alimony for the person concerned and their children may also be ordered.
The custody of the person concerned may be entrusted to a competent person or authority. In the case of a child, custody will be decided under the Guardians and Wards Act. Adult custody will require the consent of the person concerned.
Violation of protection, stay or custody orders will be punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of Rs 100,000, payable to the party concerned.
The offense provided for by law will be punishable by bail, may be recognized and aggravated. Appeals against court decisions can be filed within 10 days.
