Pakistan: Information on laws and practices and social attitudes regarding adoption, treatment of illegitimate and/or abandoned children
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 25 May 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK34461.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: Information on laws and practices and social attitudes regarding adoption, treatment of illegitimate and/or abandoned children, 25 May 2000, PAK34461.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad704.html [accessed 4 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The US State Department has posted the following information on the Internet regarding adoption of children in Pakistan:
Pakistan is a Muslim state, and Muslim law does not recognize adoption. Some children whose origin is unknown but who have been converted to Christianity by Christian missionaries may be available for adoption (US State Department n.d.b).
Another State Department Website provides the following information on adoption in Pakistan:
There is no actual provision for adoption by Muslims in Pakistan. The most you can do is to obtain legal custody of the child and then obtain a formal adoption order in the U.S. Non-Muslims may adopt a child in Pakistan.
Since Muslim law does not permit adoption as Western law conceives it (that is, as legally changing the parentage of the child), your best contacts will be with Christian welfare organizations. We will be happy to provide you with the names and addresses of such organizations.
Get as much information as possible about the child's origin -- a birth certificate, if possible, and a witnessed letter declaring that the child is orphaned or abandoned, and that no one will lay claims to him or her. A detailed statement of the circumstances of the abandonment by the welfare organization is helpful.
You will need the help of a lawyer in Pakistan to file a court application, represent you and the child at a hearing, and obtain a Pakistani passport for the child. Write to us for a list of approved lawyers. The lawyer will file an application in the court. The judge may request that the child be advertised in the Pakistani newspapers. If there is no final claim or legal complications, the judge will issue a written court order duly signed and stamped that the child is under the legal guardianship of an individual (always a male in the case of a married couple). Delays in this process are frequent and the hearing could take between three to six months to complete (US State Department n.d.a).
No additional and/or corroborating information on adoption in Pakistan could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
US State Department. n.d.a "International Adoption in Pakistan." < http://216.200.80.33/adoption_pakistan.html > [Accessed 10 May 2000]
_____. n.d.b "International Adoption: Other Near Eastern and South Asian Countries." < http://travel.state.gov/adoption_other_near_east.html > [Accessed 10 May 2000]
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
Unsuccessful attempts to contact seven non-documentary sources
World News Connection (WNC)
