Girl, 3, sold by her father to man, 60, for marriage in Pakistan after her older sister was ‘killed by groom’s son’

A TODDLER has been sold as a bride to a man, 60, for £6,800 in Pakistan after her own sister was killed by his son, it was reported. Abdul Baqi, the father of the two sisters, married off his three-year-old, to Salah Uddin as part of an old tradition called “walwar” – a Pashto term for money paid by a groom to the family of the bride. He agreed on the deal two weeks after his older daughter Shukria Bibi was reportedly beaten to death by her husband Kamran, Salah’s son. Kamran, 30, had become enraged after Shukria repeatedly looked outside at people passing by their home, despite being warned several times not to. Raging, he slashed her with iron rods and other sharp instruments, HUM reported. The gruesome attack happened on September 7, after which Kamran was arrested. Read more about Pakistan Shukria was forced into marriage since the age of 13, and is alleged to have suffered two years of physical abuse at the hands of her husband. And now her own sister was being married off to the father of her abuser after her killing. As soon as the agreed amount was paid off, the child would have become Salah’s wife. Israr Ahmed Umrani, assistant inspector general of Balochistan Police for gender issues, told The Media Line that police arrested the girl’s father after receiving information about the case. Most read in The Sun Officers are now searching for Salah who appears to be in hiding after the arrest of his son. Umrani said the investigation was continuing and that authorities firmly opposed child marriage. In November 2025, Balochistan became the latest Pakistani province to ban child marriages. Nearly two thirds of marriages in Balochistan happened before the age of 18, with 40 per cent of them before the age of 16, which is far higher than the national average, according to a survey by Save the Children carried out in 2024. One in four girls surveyed in the province were under 16 when they had their first child, and 60% gave birth before 18. A community member told the charity that “in our culture, it’s believed that the earlier a girl is married, the better it is for her honour and the family’s reputation”. Another said that marrying daughters early means “one less mouth to feed”. Khuram Gondal, country director, called the new law “a landmark moment for children in Balochistan and a historic moment for child rights” in the country. “It is now vital that the law is enforced and the causes of early marriage are tackled,” he added. “True change requires more than policies; it demands consistency, commitment, and the collective efforts of government, civil society, and local partners. “We are also calling on other provinces to follow Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad by introducing similar legislation to protect girls and boys from early marriage.”