The Peshawar High Court has ruled that a mother’s second marriage alone cannot be used as a reason to take away her child’s custody. The court stressed that the child’s welfare must remain the main concern in family disputes.
Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar issued the ruling while deciding a custody case filed by a father from Kohat. The father had sought custody of his son after his former wife remarried in 2024.
The parents’ marriage ended in 2018, and the boy continued living within his mother’s family. Now around nine to 10 years old, he has never lived with his father.
The court refused to transfer custody to the father and ordered that the existing living arrangement should continue. However, it granted him visitation rights, directing that initial meetings take place at the family court in Lachi, Kohat, to help father and son build a relationship gradually.
The court said judges must consider a child’s emotional needs, education, home environment and overall development before making custody decisions.
