Pakistan, May 22 -- The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that if a wife failed to prove allegations of cruelty against her husband but remained unwilling to maintain marital relationship, a family court was obligated to obtain the woman's clear, informed, and voluntary consent before issuing a decree of 'Khula' (divorce initiated by the wife).

This ruling is particularly significant in cases where financial rights, such as 'haq-mehr' (dower), are at stake. The court emphasized that family courts cannot automatically convert a case into khula nor use a failed claim of cruelty as the sole basis for a divorce decree without explicit consent.

According to the detailed written judgment, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya A...