A couple brought their case to court in England to ask for a determination whether the divorce, granted in Pakistan under Islamic law, was legitimate in the UK or not.
A Judge from the UK High Court has ruled that a divorce, granted in Pakistan under Islamic law, should not be recognised in the United Kingdom.
The reason behind this decision is that there are different laws applied in England and Wales.
Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot is the one in charge of overseeing the family court dispute between the couple, whose marriage has broken down, and both had taken their case to the court hoping for clarity.
Assim Hussain said that his marriage to his 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 got married.
He insists and told the court that Parveen’s divorce from her first husband under the Islamic law in Pakistan could not be recognised in England due to the law differences.
On the other hand, Nazia Parveen disagreed, and has an opposite view on this case. She said that her Islamic divorce from her first husband granted in Pakistan should be recognised in England and declared as final and legitimate.
Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot decided to support Assim Hussain’s side. She said that her decision was related to the validity and recognition of the ‘first’ divorce in the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales.
However, the judge countered her decision, stressing that her decision did not affect the opposition of the divorce, as well as ‘second’ marriage in Pakistan.
Similar cases often happen, rules under Islamic law are often not recognized in countries that applied different laws.
