An old man, in his eighties from southern Pakistan, has submitted a petition to the local court, seeking a directive for his sons to permit him to enter into a new marriage, as confirmed by his son on Tuesday.
Manthar Lashari, a resident of Jacobabad in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, lodged an application with the district and sessions court, expressing his loneliness in his later years following the loss of his wife. Lashari emphasized the challenges of living without a companion and voiced his need for one.
Under Islamic law, a man is permitted to marry up to four times. However, a significant ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in August 2020 made it mandatory for a man to secure consent from his first wife or an arbitration council before taking a second spouse. Nevertheless, there is no obligation for a man to seek consent from his children to remarry, particularly when his first wife has passed away.
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Speaking to reporters outside the court, Lashari shared his attempts to persuade his sons, including invoking the Holy Qur’an, to allow him to remarry. He emphasized the necessity of companionship in his old age and expressed hope that the court’s intervention would convince his sons to facilitate his second marriage.
In a video recording, Lashari can be heard recounting his request for his sons to find a suitable wife for him, even if she were an elderly woman. However, Lashari alleged that his sons had prevented him from marrying and had dissuaded their relatives from considering him as a potential spouse for their daughters.
Mehboob Ali, Lashari’s son, disclosed that the family became aware of their father’s legal action after seeing the video of his conversation with reporters on Monday night. He clarified that they had no objection if their father desired to remarry but argued that Lashari should seek his children’s consent for such a decision.
Ali explained, “If a father wants to do something, he asks his children. He hasn’t asked us for his marriage.”
The court is scheduled to hear the case on November 21.
