A record number of new family disputes were filed in Rawalpindi’s family courts during the first quarter of 2025, from January 1 to March 31.

A total of 1,451 new cases were registered, including disputes over alimony, child custody, dower (Haq Mehr), and return of dowry items.

Additionally, 41 husbands approached the courts seeking orders to bring back estranged wives who had left their homes.

For the first time, 21 Christian women also filed for divorce following legal reforms that now allow Christian women to seek divorce or separation without going through the previously required and complex process of annulment.

During the three-month period, the courts issued 106 divorce decrees on the basis of khula (separation initiated by the wife) and ordered 310 husbands or fathers to pay expenses for their wives and children.

Courts also ordered the reunification of 13 estranged couples and returned 75 children from paternal custody to their mothers.

According to court sources, five to eight new family cases are being filed daily, sometimes reaching up to 15–20 cases per day.

The courts also helped reconcile 55 couples, resulting in case dismissals.

Family law advocates cited the rise in social media use—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, and YouTube—as a major contributing factor to the breakdown of marriages.

The availability of modern smartphones to teenagers has reportedly led to a 50 per cent increase in elopements and love marriages.

Advocate Sabtain Bukhari noted that family-based marriages need to be encouraged again.

While marrying outside the family isn’t wrong, parents should carefully vet potential spouses.

He emphasised that marriages based on lies tend not to last, especially in the case of runaway love marriages, which often collapse within six months to a year.

Human Rights Cell Secretary Advocate Tayyaba Abbasi urged that while girls should have access to mobile phones, their use must be monitored. She recommended encouraging education and family-approved marriages.

She added that many women discover post-marriage that their spouses, who claimed to be well-off or employed, are jobless or involved in petty crimes—leading to family breakdowns.

Legal experts suggested strict measures, such as setting a minimum dower of Rs2.5 million and a monthly maintenance of Rs15,000 in case of love marriages, with an additional Rs500,000 payable to the woman in case of divorce.

They believe such reforms could help curb the growing trend of broken families.