MUHAMMAD IMRAN BAQIR vs MST — 2026 PLD 170 SUPREME-COURT

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MUHAMMAD IMRAN BAQIR VS MST. ZARNAIN ARZOO. S. 5, Sched.---Maintenance allowance of minor---Obligation of father to maintain his children---Quantum of maintenance, determination of---Factors and considerations---Inability / incapacity of father to maintain child---Effect---Obligation of mother to maintain minor given her financial ease---Grandfather, responsibility of---Scope---The determination of appropriate quantum of maintenance involves two principal considerations: (i) the nature and extent of the child's reasonable requirements and (ii) the father's financial means---Maintenance traditionally includes food, raiment, and lodging---However, this list is not exhaustive---Given evolving societal standards and the overarching principle of welfare of the minor, the term must be interpreted broadly to encompass all reasonable expenses necessary for the physical, mental, and emotional development of the child---This includes, inter alia, educational costs, healthcare, and other needs consistent with the natural growth and comfort of the minor---The amount awarded should reflect the family's social status, ensuring that the child is not deprived of opportunities for development and well-being solely due to the dissolution of the marriage---The second consideration pertains to the father's financial capacity to maintain the child---Under Islamic principles, the obligation of maintenance is generally subject to certain conditions---Firstly, the child must be in need---If the child possesses independent means sufficient for his / her own support, the duty of the father to provide maintenance does not arise---Secondly, the child must be unable to earn due to minority or incapacity---Thirdly, the father must possess the means to provide such maintenance---While most Islamic schools of thought agree that the father's financial ability is a necessary precondition, the Hanafi school maintains a distinct view holding that, in the case of children, the obligation to maintain arises irrespective of actual wealth, provided the father has the capacity to earn---Therefore, the mere fact that the father is not working, in the absence of any serious mental or physical challenges, cannot be admitted as a valid justification for his failure to discharge the obligation of maintenance towards his children---In circumstances where the father lacks the means to provide maintenance and is incapable of earning due to genuine limitations, the duty to maintain the children may devolve upon the mother if she is in a position of financial ease---If neither parent possesses sufficient means, the obligation may extend to the paternal grandfather, subject to his financial ability to provide support to the children.

MUHAMMAD IMRAN BAQIR vs MST — 2026 PLD 170 SUPREME-COURT

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