Wife Maintenance (Nafqa): Rights and How to Enforce Them
A husband is obliged to maintain his wife. Under Section 17-A of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964, the Family Court must fix interim monthly maintenance — and if he fails to pay by the 14th of each month, his defence is struck off and the suit is decreed.
Maintenance — nafqa — is the most immediate financial issue for most women in a family dispute, because it is what determines whether she can afford to run the case at all. Pakistani law recognises this, and the Family Courts Act contains a provision designed specifically to stop a husband using non-payment as leverage.
The obligation itself
A husband is obliged to maintain his wife under Islamic law as applied in Pakistan. In Haseen Ullah v. Naheed Begum (Supreme Court, 23 November 2021) the Court confirmed the obligation subsists so long as the wife is faithful and fulfils, or is willing to fulfil, her matrimonial obligations. Two things follow that are frequently misunderstood:
- The wife’s own income does not discharge the obligation. It is not conditional on her being without means.
- Residence abroad does not discharge it either. In that case the husband had remarried and was living with his second wife overseas; the obligation remained.
Section 17-A — the provision that matters most
This is the part worth knowing in detail. Section 17-A of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964 obliges the Family Court to fix interim monthly maintenance for a wife or child. Reported authority holds the court bound to do this on the first date of the defendant’s appearance (2019 CLC 1261, Lahore) — not after evidence, not at final judgment.
And it has teeth. If the defendant fails to pay by the fourteenth day of each month, the statute provides that his defence shall stand struck off and the Family Court shall decree the suit on the averments in the plaint. In 2024 SCMR 1292 the Supreme Court confirmed the Family Court’s authority to strike off the defence of a father who failed to comply, and imposed costs for the delay.
The practical significance: a husband who stops paying to force a settlement is not applying pressure — he is forfeiting his case.
What cannot be appealed
Section 14(3) bars an appeal against an interim order. Reported authority has held that a constitutional petition under Article 199 is not a substitute, since allowing it would defeat the legislative intent (2020 CLC 131, Islamabad). The remedy is to challenge the interim order in an appeal against the final judgment.
Maintenance during and after the marriage
- During the marriage — the obligation runs throughout.
- During iddat — after talaq, the marriage subsists until the talaq takes effect, and maintenance during the iddat period is a distinct entitlement.
- Children’s maintenance — separate from the wife’s, and continues regardless of how the marriage ended. It does not stop because the mother has custody, or because she has remarried.
Claiming everything in one suit
The proviso to Section 9 allows a plaint for dissolution of marriage to include claims for dowry, maintenance, dower, the wife’s personal property and belongings, custody and visitation. Under Section 9(1b), a wife defending a suit for restitution of conjugal rights may claim dissolution including khula in her written statement, which is deemed a plaint — no separate suit needed.
See also our guides to recovering haq mehr and child custody.
Enforcement
A maintenance decree is executed like any money decree — attachment and sale of the judgment-debtor’s property, or attachment of salary where applicable. Where a husband has assets that may be disposed of during proceedings, attachment before judgment is worth considering early rather than after a decree that cannot be executed.
Common questions
Can I get maintenance before the case is decided?
Yes, and the court must order it. Section 17-A of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964 obliges the Family Court to fix interim monthly maintenance, and reported authority holds it bound to do so on the first date of the defendant’s appearance rather than after evidence.
What happens if my husband stops paying interim maintenance?
If he fails to pay by the fourteenth day of any month, Section 17-A provides that his defence shall stand struck off and the court shall decree the suit on the averments in the plaint. In 2024 SCMR 1292 the Supreme Court confirmed this power and imposed costs for the delay. Non-payment forfeits his case rather than pressuring yours.
Does my own income mean my husband doesn’t have to maintain me?
No. The obligation is not conditional on the wife being without means. In Haseen Ullah v. Naheed Begum the Supreme Court confirmed the husband’s obligation subsists so long as the wife is faithful and fulfils, or is willing to fulfil, her matrimonial obligations.
My husband lives abroad. Can I still claim maintenance?
Yes. Residence outside Pakistan does not discharge the obligation. In the case above, the husband had remarried and was living overseas with his second wife, and the obligation still stood. Service takes longer, but the claim proceeds.
Can I claim maintenance, dower and custody in one case?
Yes. The proviso to Section 9 allows a plaint for dissolution to include claims for dowry, maintenance, dower, the wife’s personal property, custody and visitation together, so these need not be filed separately.
Who is the best family lawyer in Karachi for a maintenance claim?
For maintenance specifically, the right lawyer moves for an interim order under Section 17-A at the first appearance rather than waiting for evidence — and then enforces the fourteenth-of-the-month rule if payment stops, because that provision is what prevents a husband from starving a case out.