From WION News:
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The child bride’s sister was married to her groom’s son and murdered weeks ago. Photograph: (AFP)
Outrage swept Pakistan after news broke that a man sold his 3-year-old daughter to a 60-year-old man. The incident happened in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, where the girl was sold for 2.5 million Pakistani rupees, around $9,000. Her father, Abdul Baqi, was arrested in the border city of Chaman, while 60-year-old Salah Uddin was absconding. The matter has drawn attention to the practice of walwar, or bride price, a traditional Pashto custom where a groom or his family pays money to the bride’s family.
Local reports state that the marriage only existed on paper for now since the entire amount had not been paid. Once the full walwar money had been handed to the girl’s father, she would have been considered the 60-year-old’s wife. But it could have been years before the full bride price was paid. Till then, the arrangement would have meant that the girl’s family could not look for another match for her in the future, even after she became an adult. In case they tried to, it could have serious repercussions, including violence between the two families.