An Analytical and Comparative Study of Judicial Separation and Dissolution of Marriage: Evidence from District Swat (Tehsil Khwaza khela and Tehsil Bahrain)
ازدواجی علیحدگی کے اسباب اور معاصر رجحانات:ضلع سوات کے عدالتی مقدمات کی روشنی میں ایک تقابلی تجزیہ (تحصیل خوازہ خیلہ اور بحرین کے تناظر میں)
Keywords:
Causes of separation, Khula, Domestic violence, Family courts, Judicial decisionAbstract
Family system is considered the basic unit of any society, and its foundation is marriage. In Islamic as well as in Pakhtun culture, marriage is considered a sacred and strong contract of social stability. However, when unavoidable differences arise in marital life and all attempts at reconciliation fail, divorce or any other means of separation is taken as a last resort. In the current era, like in various parts of Pakistan, increase in separation cases through courts has been observed in Malakand Division, particularly in Khwaza Khela and Bahrein Tehsils of District Upper Swat, where before 2000 AD, this ratio through courts was negligible. The aim of this research is to identify and analyze the causes of separation through courts in these two tehsils, based on judicial record. The study examines the records of Family Courts, the nature of cases, and the rates of annulment, khula, and divorce. The study indicates that economic pressure, domestic violence, interference by in-laws, overseas employment, and educational incompatibility are among the significant causes.
References
Surah Al-Baqarah:92
Surah Al-Rum:21
Surah Al-Baqarah:187
Khatib, Tabrizi, Muhammad bin Abdullah, Mishkat Al-Masabih, Maktaba Al-Bishri, Lahore, Kitab Al-Nikah, Vol. 3, Page 182
Surah Al-Baqarah:228
Surah An-Nisa:19
Swat District, whose capital is Saidu Sharif, basically consists of seven tehsils and 65 union councils. The names of the tehsils are: (1) Barikot Tehsil (2) Babuzai Tehsil (3) Kabal Tehsil (4) Charbagh Tehsil (5) Matta Tehsil (6) Khwaza Khaila Tehsil (7) Bahrain Tehsil. Upper Swat District consists of the last three tehsils.
Abu Dawood, Sulaiman bin Ash'ath, Basnan Abi Dawood, Maktaba Rahmaniyyah Urdu Bazaar, Lahore Book of Divorce Hadith No. 2178 Volume 1 Page 314
Ibid, Hadith No. 2226 Volume 1 Page 321
(www.census.pbos.gov.pk retrieved on 3rd of February 2026
Ibid.
Surah Rum: 21
Surah An-Nur: 32
Bukhari, Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim 256 AH, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Old Library Karachi, Book of Nikah, Chapter If You Can Marry, So Let Him Marry Whom You Marry, Volume 2 Page 785
Surah Al-Nisa: 35
Beating, fighting and arguing are called Shiqah. On this basis, a woman can demand divorce or Khula. Syrian Volume 3 Page 441
Budalat Mr. Family Judge, Tehsil Khwaza Khaila FC/13 Date Decision 21/11/2024 File: 1 Nature of claim, annulment of marriage.
Ibid, 35/ FC Date of decision 12/6/2024 File: 1 Nature of claim, divorce.
Ibid, 23/FC Date of decision 21/12/2024 File: 1 Nature of claim, annulment of marriage.
After Mr. Family Judge, Tehsil Bahrain 18/FC Date of decision 3/3/2023 File: 1 Nature of claim, annulment of marriage.
If a minor boy or girl gets married by someone other than his father, then the option to annul this marriage after puberty is called the option of puberty.
It is not the Sharia right of a wife to get permission from her wife to get married again, it is only that it can cause a deterioration in relations with the first wife. Darul Ifta Jamia Uloom Islamia Banuri Town, Fatwa No., Fatwa No. 144411100592 www.banuri.edu.pk 3/21/2026 10:16 PM.
Later Mr. Family Judge Tehsil Khwaza Khela 105/FC Date of Decision 16/9/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Family Claim.
According to Sharia, this marriage is okay, but it will be a sin of cheating.
Later Mr. Family Judge Tehsil Khwaza Khela 15/FC Date of Decision 26/7/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Family Claim.
Later Mr. Family Judge Tehsil Khwaza Khela 73/FC Date of Decision 24/7/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Family Claim.
Later Mr. Family Judge Tehsil Khwaza Khela 17/FC Date of Decision 13/12/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Annulment of Marriage.
www.banuri.edu.pk.10/11/2024.10:23am See Fatwa No. 144510102232 Darul Ifta Banuri Town
After the death of Mr. Family Judge, Tehsil Khwaza Khela 38/FC Date of Decision 16/8/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Family Claim.
Ibid, 25/FC Date of Decision 8/2/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Refutation of Marriage.
Ibid, Tehsil Bahrain 21/FC Date 2/3/2022 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Annulment of Marriage.
This issue is of both non-naqfa and right of dowry, due to both of which the wife has the right to annulment (Al-Hailatul-Najiza Page 150) For details, see Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Page 92.
Family Judge, Tehsil Khwaza Khela 86/FC Date Decision 15/11/2024 File: 1 Type of claim, annulment of marriage.
After the verdict of Mr. Judge Family Korrehbarin Swat, 24 / FC, Date of decision 13/9/2022, Claim for annulment of marriage.
If a husband accuses his wife of adultery, he must produce four witnesses. If he cannot produce witnesses, then he will swear. The method of swearing is that the husband will swear four times that he is truthful and truthful in what he says, and the fifth time he will say that if I am a liar and a liar, then may Allah curse me. Similarly, the wife will swear four times that my husband is a liar and the fifth time she will say that if he is truthful and truthful, then may Allah Almighty be angry with me. If the husband refuses to swear, he will be punished with the punishment of Qadhf with eight lashes, and if the wife refuses, she will be punished with the punishment of adultery. According to the Hanafis, after swearing, the spouses Marital relations are forbidden and the husband will divorce or the judge will annul the marriage between the two. (Shami, Volume 3, Page 516)
According to Sharia, such a marriage is concluded with a sane, adult girl. Even if the girl agrees, such an act is extremely abhorrent. And if it is done in a non-Kufo, then before the birth of the child, the girl's parents have the right to annul the marriage from the court. (Shami, H.M. Saeed Company Karachi, Kitab-ul-Nikah, Volume 3, Page 55 and Fatwa Alamgiri, Rashidiya Library Quetta, Kitab-ul-Nikah Volume 1, Page 292)
After the verdict of Mr. Family Judge, Tehsil Bahrain 25/FC Date 21/8/2024 File: 1 Nature of claim, annulment of the marriage.
If there is a difference between the spouses and they also have a minor child, then the boy has the right for seven years and the girl has the right for nine years to live with the mother and after that the child will be handed over to the father. (Bada’i Volume 8 Page 244)
Bada’i Family Court Judge Sahib Tehsil Khwaza Khela 48/FC Date of Decision 31/7/24 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Annulment of Marriage
Custody, that is, the right to raise a child up to seven years and a girl up to nine years, is enjoyed by the mother, grandmother, and maternal aunt. (Bada’i Industries, Volume 8, Page 244)
Due to non-maintenance and cruelty, the wife can obtain a degree of annulment from the court. (Heela Najiza, Darul Ishaat Karachi, Page 73)
Bada’i Family Court Judge Sahib Tehsil Khwaza Khela 10/2/FC Date of Decision 4/3/2024 File: 1 Nature of Claim, Annulment of Marriage.
