Islamic divorce granted in Pakistan should not be recognised: UK court

LONDON: A UK High Court judge has ruled that an Islamic divorce granted in Pakistan should not be recognised in the United Kingdom.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot oversaw a family court dispute between a couple whose marriage had broken down and both had taken their case to the court for determination whether the first divorce given in Pakistan was legitimate in the UK or not.

Assim Hussain said his marriage to wife Nazia Parveen, which took place in Pakistan nearly 14 years ago, should be annulled because she was still married to her first husband when they wed. Assim Hussain told the court that Nazia Parveen’s Islamic divorce from her first husband could not be recognised in England under the English law. On the other hand, Nazia Parveen disagreed and told the court that her divorce from her first husband should be recognised in England and declared as final and legitimate.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot ruled in Assim Hussain’s favour, stressing that her decision related to the validity and recognition of the “first” divorce in the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. The judge said her decision did not affect the position of the divorce, and “second” marriage, in Pakistan.