LAHORE, Western Punjab, Pakistan—The Western Punjab’s assembly today unanimously passed the ‘Punjab Sikhs Anand Karaj Marriages Act 2017’ to legally recognize Sikh marriages in Punjab province of Pakistan. The bill will come into force after getting approved by the provincial governor. Every Sikh marriage, that took place before the bill, will also gain legal status once the bill comes into force.
It is pertinent to note here that the bill was tabled by provincial minister Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora on October 24 last year. Chief Minister of Western Punjab Mr. Shahbaz Sharif approved the bill last week to provide legal status to the Sikh marriages in the most populated state of Pakistan.
According to the bill, a marriage ceremony, or Anand Karaj — which is defined as “the lawful union of a Sikh male and Sikh female” — will be performed in accordance with the religious practices as per Sikh tenets. A “marriage deed”, a legal document authorising the matrimonial union, will then be issued by a registrar who will be appointed by the Punjab government.
Speaking with Sikh24 on March 14, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora informed that the detail of Sikh marriages used to be kept in Gurdwara records only but now the Sikh marriages have been given a legal validation by the western Punjab’s government.
“This had long been a demand for Sikhs living in Pakistan and we are happy to see the bill finally getting approved,” he said.
