PESHAWAR (Muhammad Ijaz Afridi): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has officially banned government employees from marrying foreign nationals without prior state approval, implementing formal rules and regulations to govern such unions.
According to a notification issued by the Human Resource Management Department under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Servants (Restrictions on Marriage with Foreign Nationals) Rules 2026, any employee seeking to marry a foreigner must now obtain explicit permission from the government beforehand. The notification clarifies that marrying or promising to marry a foreign national without this consent will be classified as misconduct, triggering strict departmental proceedings under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2011.
Under these new regulations, government servants are required to submit a formal application through their respective administrative departments. This application must be accompanied by essential documentation, including a character clearance certificate and an affidavit confirming that the foreign national is not involved in any illegal or anti-state activities. In reviewing these requests, the government will evaluate several factors, such as the spouse’s nationality, the diplomatic relations between their home country and Pakistan, security and intelligence considerations, and clearance from relevant agencies.
The notification further states that cases of employees who have already married foreign nationals without prior permission will be re-presented to the government for a formal decision. While the government retains the power to relax these rules in specific cases based on written justifications, the regulations have come into effect immediately. All government departments across the province have been directed to ensure the strict implementation of these rules to maintain oversight on the foreign affiliations of civil servants.
