With the exception of Azad Kashmir, all zones of Pakistan make divorce subject to forms of arbitration. In Azad Kashmir, the bare talaq still has practitioners, a form of divorce in which a husband can sever a relationship with a triple declaration of the phrase, 'I divorce thee.' The oral quality of the bare talaq decree may make a paper trail more difficult to find in Azad Kashmir.

Civil courts can grant Christians a divorce in Pakistan, and copies of a specific case ruling can be obtained from the court.

Many ex-servicemen and officers of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) emigrated to England in the 1950s and found good jobs with the commercial airlines at Heathrow Airport.

Some of them served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force in India and opted to go to Pakistan after partition. Their service records were transferred to the Pakistan Air Force, and copies are also kept at the National Archives of India.

Pakistan issues identity cards to citizens at age 18. This started in the 1970s. These are required of adults in order to vote or to obtain driver's' licenses and passports. In rural areas, it is not uncommon for identity cards to be issued to women without photographs.

For further advice on family history research in Pakistan, please contact the National Archives of Pakistan. The address is:
National Archives of Pakistan
Administrative Block
Area Block N
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
Pakistan

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