Wakeelوکیل Find an advocate

Guide

Talaq, and the
ninety days after

Talaq is the way a husband ends a marriage. It is not over the moment the husband says it. Written notice has to reach the union council, a council is formed, and ninety days have to pass. This page shows the order, and how to find an advocate who has done it before.

Where this applies This page covers a marriage registered in Pakistan, and the official steps for ending it there. What the country you live in needs from you afterwards is a separate step. What your religion asks of you is a third thing, and not something we write about.

A man walking away from the camera along a city street in the late afternoon
Photograph: Muhammad Wasif

What a talaq is

A talaq is the husband ending the marriage. Saying it is the first step, not the last one. The marriage does not end on the day it is said.

Khula is the other route, and it works the other way round: the wife files a suit in the family court. If that is your situation, this is not your page.

Back to khula, talaq and what comes after

The order it happens in

  1. The husband states the talaq

    On its own this does not end the marriage.

  2. Written notice goes to the union council

    The notice goes to the chairman of the union council.

  3. A council is formed

    The chairman forms an arbitration council within thirty days.

  4. Ninety days pass

    The talaq does not take effect until ninety days have passed.

Note Ask your advocate which union council your notice has to reach.

Paperwork follows, and more than one office is involved in it.

The union council and NADRA, and what each one is

Choosing an advocate for a talaq

  1. Can act on a power of attorney

    You are not in Pakistan. Someone has to be able to act for you there, and not every advocate takes that work.

  2. Has filed from abroad before

    Filing for a client who lives in another country is not the same job as filing for one down the road. Ask how often they do it.

  3. Works where the union council is

    The notice goes to one particular union council. An advocate in the wrong city is the wrong advocate, however good they are.

  4. Speaks a language you are comfortable in

    You will be reading documents you cannot afford to misunderstand.

What to ask before you agree

  • How many talaq notices have you filed for someone living outside Pakistan?
  • Which union council will the notice go to, and how do you know that?
  • What do you need from me, and by when?
  • What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
  • Who will tell me when the ninety days are up?

More in Ending a marriage

Next in this group I want to end my marriage Khula is the way a wife ends a marriage. It is not a form. The wife files a suit, the court hears it, and the court decides. Read this next

Also relevant

All of Ending a marriage on one page

Words you will meet

talaq
The husband ends the marriage himself. This page is about that route.
written notice
The paper that tells the union council a talaq has been said.
union council
The local office the written notice goes to.
arbitration council
The council the union council chairman forms after the notice.
khula
The wife’s route. It has its own page.

Find an advocate who handles a talaq

The register shows who acts on a power of attorney, who has filed from abroad, and in which city.