Man gets 2 months' jail over secret second marriage in Pak

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced a man to three months' imprisonment and fined him Rs 50,000 for secretly contracting a second marriage without seeking permission from his first wife.

Judicial Magistrate Lahore Hasan Dilbar handed down the sentence to Mohammad Saleem in violation of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961.

He was also fined Rs 50,000.

Saleem's wife Shumaila had filed a private complaint before the court of the judicial magistrate against her husband.

Shumaila got married to Saleem about four years ago and the couple were enjoying good relations.

"I have come to know that my husband married Urooj Safdar two years ago secretly. He had not sought my permission for the second marriage," she said and sought "severe" punishment for her husband under the Muslim Family Laws.

Under this law, a man is legally bound to seek permission from his first wife and the arbitrary council concerned before his second marriage.

In case of non-payment of the fine he will have to undergo one more month of imprisonment. The convict is sent to Okara, central jail, some 200-kilometer from Lahore.

Shumaila, however, expressed her dissatisfaction over the quantum of the punishment awarded to her husband.

"My husband deserves more imprisonment for the crime contracting second marriage without permission of first wife," she told reporters.

She said Saleem not only committed the crime of marrying again, but also kept on cheating on her for two years by keeping it a secret.

Last month, a judicial magistrate in Lahore had handed down 11-month jail term to Muhammad Rashid for contracting second marriage without seeking permission from his first wife.