The British government has evolved an integrated strategy to intervene for discouraging the trend of forced marriages besides to extend moral and legal aid to the British citizens, who used to become victims of the menace.
This was disclosed by Miss Lisa Bandari, Head of Forced Marriage Unit in the British Foreign Office in London and leader of a three-member British delegation currently on a visit to Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir, to assess the issue of forced marriages through meetings with the civil society members belonging to various spheres of life.
Lisa continued that since the emergence of Forced Marriage Unit in London, it had so far disposed of a total of 1250 cases related to forced marriages received from various parts of the world, including Pakistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir during the last six years.
She was speaking at a meeting of the legal experts of family law, senior journalists and members of the business fraternity to exchange views on the issue of forced marriages here on late Thursday. The meeting was arranged by Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, Honorary British Consul in Mirpur Azad Kashmir and President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
She informed the audience that at least three hundred cases of forced marriages were reported and registered only in South Asian countries every year.
She said that the British government was making every possible effort to prevent this trend, which was the main cause of disappointment and frustration among the Asian families living in United Kingdom.