Summary The culprits could face six months imprisonment and/or a fine of 50,000 rupees.
MULTAN (AFP) - Police have arrested six people accused of arranging the marriage of a seven-year-old boy and six-year-old girl in, officials said Saturday.
The fathers of both children, the cleric performing the ceremony, and three witnesses were charged under the Child Marriage Restraint Act on Saturday after being arrested in Punjab province on Friday, senior police official Saifullah Khan told AFP.
They face six months imprisonment and/or a fine of 50,000 rupees.
Local police chief Mehr Riaz Hussain said the accused have denied that the wedding took place, but police have it on video.
Lawmakers last month withdrew a proposal to impose harsher penalties on those who arrange child marriages. Rights activists strongly criticised the rejection of bill.
The proposal, which would also have raised the legal age of marriages for females from 16 to 18, called for "rigorous" punishment of up to two years in prison for those who organise child marriages, still common in some parts of Pakistan.
The original law stipulates the age of marriage to be 16 for women and 18 for men.
