Till court do us part: Over 45,000 divorce cases filed in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The federal capital’s family courts are turning into some of the busiest judicial spaces in the city, with divorce and maintenance cases rising at a pace officials say is becoming difficult to manage.

Court records show that, on average, around 38 divorce-related cases are being filed every hour during working proceedings. Since the start of the year, more than 45,000 cases have already been registered in Islamabad alone.

The trend is not slowing down. Officials say over 300 new cases are added daily, with monthly filings crossing 9,000. Over the past three years, the numbers have steadily climbed from 85,000 cases in 2023 to over 100,000 in 2025.

Alongside this rise, court marriages are also being registered regularly — more than 30 every day — but many of these unions reportedly do not last long. Court data shows multiple cases where couples moved for separation within just a few weeks or months of marriage.

Lawyers handling these cases say the pattern is becoming familiar: young couples entering marriage by choice, then quickly running into financial stress, unemployment pressures, and in some cases substance-related issues.

A senior legal practitioner noted that economic pressure and drug abuse are now recurring themes in family disputes, often surfacing in nearly every other case.

The surge has placed noticeable strain on already overloaded family courts, where delays are becoming routine due to rising caseloads.

Officials describe the situation as a reflection of shifting urban realities — where financial pressure, changing expectations, and social stress are increasingly testing relationships earlier than before.