Khula for Overseas Pakistani

KHULA FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANI

Khula for overseas Pakistani is possible through filing a case before family court through a lawyer. You may hire a lawyer remotely through a special power of attorney attested by the Pakistani embassy. Once the lawyer is hired he will conduct the khula procedure for overseas Pakistanis in the family court. A wife who is residing abroad can obtain Khula from the Family Court in Pakistan without even visiting the country.

Family law gives the right and authority to a wife that if she needs a divorce in Pakistan from her husband, she can hire the services of a divorce lawyer and file a case against the husband. The law does not debar a woman from obtaining a divorce only for the reason that she is not in the country.

Generally, this is the law all over the world that a person can hire the services of a lawyer for legal representation before the court. Lawyers are licensed by the government and possess law degrees to represent their clients, even if they are not physically present in the country. The law of Khula in Pakistan is also the same.

If a female needs a divorce from her husband, she can obtain a Khula decree from the Family Court in Pakistan through a lawyer. Khula for overseas Pakistanis is the right of every wife. The law does not force a woman to live in a toxic relationship. If she wants to discontinue the matrimonial bond, she can walk away through a Khula decree obtained by her lawyer.

In Pakistan, the law provides certain grounds for Khula, and these grounds need to be presented by the wife through her lawyer before the court. In order to support her case, evidence has to be tendered before the court. If the court is convinced by the reasons on which the divorce is sought, it will issue a Khula decree in favor of the wife.

WHO CAN FILE A CASE

A wife who is not currently in Pakistan can file a case in the Family Court. A case can be filed before the court under the following circumstances:

If a woman is a Pakistani citizen and is residing abroad, she can be a dual citizen and may be abroad for business or work purposes.
A foreign woman who is not a Pakistani citizen but whose marriage is registered in Pakistan can file a case in the Family Court.
Any person whose marriage is registered in Pakistan can file a case in the Family Court for divorce or Khula.
If a foreign woman is married to a Pakistani citizen, she can file a case in the Family Court in Pakistan irrespective of whether the husband is currently in Pakistan or not.

Does the Wife Have to Visit Pakistan?

No, the wife does not have to visit Pakistan only for the reason that she needs a divorce from her husband. The Khula process for overseas Pakistanis is not rigid. The law gives a female the right to file a case in Pakistani courts without visiting the country.

She can hire the services of a divorce lawyer in Pakistan and can also appoint someone through a Special Power of Attorney. A lawyer in Pakistan can be hired through a Special Power of Attorney, which enables the lawyer to file the case on behalf of the wife in her absence.

JURISDICTION FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANI KHULA PROCEDURE

The case of overseas Pakistani Khula is filed before the Family Court. Family Courts are empowered in Pakistan to entertain all cases related to marriage and divorce. The Lahore High Court has also established overseas courts for the quick disposal of cases for overseas.

Any dispute between a husband and wife, such as dowry cases, maintenance matters, or child custody matters in Pakistan, can also be filed before the Family Court.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO FILE OVERSEAS KHULA IN PAKISTAN

The documents required to file Khula in Pakistan are as follows:

Copy of the wife’s ID card is mandatory.
Copy of the wife’s passport is mandatory.
Wife’s email ID is required.
Overseas address of the wife is required.
Copy of the marriage certificate is optional.
Copy of the husband’s ID card is optional.

Overseas Pakistani Khula Procedure

The overseas Pakistani Khula procedure is as follows:

To file a case in the Family Court, first contact a divorce lawyer in Pakistan. Provide all relevant details of your case.
Provide your lawyer with all the relevant documents required to file a case in Pakistan.
After the payment of legal fee the lawyer will email a special power of attorney to the wife.
Once the wife receives the Special Power of Attorney through her email, she will download the Special Power of Attorney and print the case documents. She will attach copies of her ID card and passport and get them attested by the Pakistani Embassy or Consulate in the country where she is currently residing.
Once she has attested the Special Power of Attorney, she will courier the original Special Power of Attorney to her lawyer in Pakistan.
Once the lawyer receives the Special Power of Attorney, he will get it attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan.
Once the Special Power of Attorney is attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will authorize the lawyer to file the case in the Family Court on behalf of the wife.

COURT PROCEDURE FOR OVERSEAS KHULA

The lawyer will file the case before the family court.
The court will send notices to the husband. If the husband appears the husband will submit his written reply and can ask the court not to issue khula decree in the favor of wife. After the written reply the court will fix the date for reconciliation between the both. In case the reconciliation fails the court can issue the khula decree.
If the husband does not appears the court after the publication in the news paper will proceed ex-party against the husband
The court will give the date for evidence on which the lawyer will tender the oral and the documentary evidence in the court supporting the contents of the khula petition
After the evidence the court will fix the date for arguments on which the lawyer will try to convince the court that the grounds for khula in Pakistan exists due to which the khula decree be issued in the favour of the overseas wife.

KHULA DECREE IS NOT DIVORCED

The divorce in Pakistan is not finalized when the Khula decree is issued by the Family Court. A Khula decree amounts to a single divorce under family law. After obtaining the Khula decree from the court, the wife cannot proceed with her next marriage. Neither can she perform Nikah nor avail the services of court marriage in Pakistan.

After the Khula decree, she has to wait for a period of 90 days, which is also the reconciliation period. After the completion of the reconciliation period, she will be issued the divorce certificate. Once the divorce certificate is issued, she can proceed with her next marriage.

The divorce certificate is the final document in the overseas Pakistani Khula procedure.

DIVORCE CERTIFICATE AFTER KHULA

In order to obtain the divorce certificate in Pakistan after the decision of the Family Court, the court decision will be submitted before the Arbitration Council through the lawyer hired through the Special Power of Attorney.

Once the court decision is submitted before the Union Council or Arbitration Council, a waiting period of 90 days, which is also the iddah period, will apply. After the completion of this period, the divorce certificate will be issued in Pakistan. Only after receiving this certificate can the wife proceed with her next marriage. This certificate is issued at the end of complete khula process for overseas Pakistani.

KHULA FEES FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANIS

The Khula fees for overseas Pakistani vary from lawyer to lawyer and city to city. Generally, the Khula fees in Pakistan range between 50,000 rupees and 100,000 rupees. It is always recommended to hire a professional and experienced lawyer for the Khula process for overseas Pakistanis.

In larger cities such as Lahore, the Khula fees may be comparatively lower than in other cities due to competition among lawyers. Our law firm has kept very economical Khula fees for overseas Pakistani for details you may contact our expert divorce lawyer Advocate M Ali

Timeline of Khula for Overseas Pakistanis

The timeline of Khula for overseas Pakistanis is generally between two to six months. As per family law, Family Courts should decide the case within a period of six months. The law has provided a timeline for courts to decide cases within this period.

However, no lawyer can provide a fixed date or time for finalization because every case is different and every judge handles matters differently. Some cities have fewer judges and a larger number of pending cases, which can increase the timeline of Khula for overseas Pakistanis.

However, in major cities such as Lahore, a Khula case may be decided within 40 to 60 days.

The overseas Pakistani Khula procedure is explained above. However, if you still have any questions, you may contact our expert divorce lawyer in Lahore, Pakistan, Advocate M Ali. We also deal with other family matters such as dowry, child maintenance, wife maintenance, and related cases.

We can also help you obtain a divorce certificate in Pakistan within a few days. We also provide services for online Nikah in Pakistan.

IDDAT PERIOD AFTER KHULA

After the complete khula process in Pakistan, when the wife is issued the court decree, the iddat period of the wife starts.

This iddat period is the waiting period of 90 days for the wife.
After the expiry of the iddat period, the talaq in Pakistan will be finalized, and the final certificate will be issued.

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS OF KHULA IN PAKISTAN?

According to the Muslim family law ordinance, a wife needs specific grounds, which she has to prove before the court through a lawyer in order to obtain a decree for dissolution of marriage in Pakistan.

Below are the grounds of khula in Pakistan provided by law:

Non-maintenance by the husband
Physical torture by the husband
Cruelty of the husband
Second marriage of the husband
Imprisonment of the husband
Husband kicked the wife out of the house
Husband changed religion
Husband is of bad character
Whereabouts of the husband are not known
Husband stops the wife from performing religious activities
Husband is impotent
Wife has developed hatred against the husband

DIVORCE PROCEDURE IN PAKISTAN FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANIS

If you are abroad, then you have to follow the following divorce procedure in Pakistan for overseas Pakistanis:

If you are an overseas Pakistani and cannot come to Pakistan, then you have to hire the services of a divorce lawyer in Pakistan.
Once you hire the divorce lawyer, the lawyer will email you the divorce deed and the Special Power of Attorney.
You have to get this Special Power of Attorney attested by the Pakistani Embassy or Consulate. Sometimes attestation from the Embassy is not required, so always consult your lawyer first.
Once the lawyer receives your Power of Attorney and the divorce deed, he will send a copy of the divorce deed to the wife and submit the original to the Union Council.
The Council will send notice to the wife and the lawyer. The Council will also ask the wife to appear before it with two male family members to facilitate the reconciliation effort.
The lawyer will legally represent the overseas client.
In case reconciliation fails, you will be issued the certificate of talaq in Pakistan.

RELEVANT LAWS

The relevant laws which deal with the overseas Pakistani khula procedure are as follows:

Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the grounds for khula in Pakistan.
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 deals with the reconciliation period and issuance of the divorce certificate after the khula decree from the Family Court.
Family Courts Act, 1964 deals with the court’s khula procedure for overseas Pakistanis.

DOWNLOAD LAWS

You may download free PDFs of the relevant laws as follows:

CASE LAWS FOR OVERSEAS PAKISTANI KHULA

PLD 1984 Lahore 240, Sakina Bibi v. Muhammad Sharif: In this case, the court decided that the physical appearance of a person is not mandatory. A Muslim female or a person residing abroad can file and contest a case through a duly attested power of attorney.

1988 CLC 1628: In this case, the Lahore High Court decided that any court cannot just dismiss a petition only on the ground that the principal is abroad. A special power of attorney holder can represent an absent party in matrimonial litigation.

DOWER AMOUNT / HAQ MEHAR

In the case of the overseas khula procedure in Pakistan, the wife has to leave all or a partial amount of her dower as mentioned in the Nikahnama, as decided by the court. If she has already taken the dower amount, then she has to return all or a partial amount of the dower as decided by the court.

MAINTENANCE

After the khula, a wife needs to be maintained by the husband only till the period of iddat. After the iddat period of 90 days, the husband is not bound to maintain the wife.

VIDEO LINK EVIDENCE

During the khula procedure of an overseas Pakistani, the testimony or evidence can be recorded by both the special power of attorney holder and the wife also. The overseas courts in Pakistan can now record the evidence of the wife through video link.

POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR OVERSEAS KHULA IN PAKISTAN

The special power of attorney for overseas khula in Pakistan needs to be attested by the Pakistani embassy or consulate of the country where the female is currently residing. To get the power of attorney attested, she has to take a print of the power of attorney, attach her ID card and passport copy, and then get it physically attested by the Pakistani embassy or consulate. In a few countries of the world, the Pakistani embassies or consulates also offer the E-Attestation services of the power of attorney.

SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY for overseas khula Specimen

WHEN AN OVERSEAS FEMALE TAKES KHULA FROM ABROAD

If an overseas Pakistani woman takes khula or divorce from abroad, then, as per Pakistani law, she also has to get it registered in Pakistan. Pakistani law accepts foreign divorce decrees. She has to submit her foreign decree in Pakistan and obtain her divorce certificate. Not only the divorce, but an overseas Pakistani is also bound to register his marriage and child’s birth in Pakistan.

ADVANTAGE OF BEING DUAL NATIONAL

A dual national has the advantage of obtaining khula from abroad and from Pakistan also, subject to Pakistani laws.

COMMON MISTAKES ACCORDING TO OUR EXPERIENCE

It is a common mistake that some overseas Pakistanis think that they need to be in Pakistan to obtain the khula decree from the Family Courts in Pakistan.

LEGAL ADVICE

It is legally advised to contact an expert family lawyer in Pakistan when it comes to the overseas Pakistani khula procedure.

OUR SERVICES

Our law firm deals with family cases, especially cases of overseas Pakistani khula in Pakistan. We also deal with cases of online marriage, divorce certificate, child custody, etc.

LAWYER’S CREDENTIALS

Adv. M. Ali is the owner of the law firm Azad Law Associates and is an expert family lawyer practicing law since 2010 in the courts of Lahore. The copy of the High Court Bar Council is pasted here for your reference.