It has been claimed by some that marital rape is not recognised in Pakistani law. The actual position is somewhat more nuanced.
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Law of Rape
Since 2006, the law of rape has been governed by Ss375 to 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code1860. They read
375. Rape:- A man is said to commit rape who has sexual intercourse with a woman under circumstances falling under any of the five following descriptions, (i) against her will.
(ii) without her consent
(iii) with her consent, when the consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt,
(iv) with her consent, when the man knows that he is not married to her and that the consent is given because she believes that the man is another person to whom she is or believes herself to be married; or
(v) With or without her consent when she is under sixteen years of age.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.
376. Punishment for rape (1) Whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years or more, than twenty-five years and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) When rape is committed by two or more persons in furtherance of common intention of all, each of such persons shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.".
Marital Rape
While the US state department and the UK Home Office have claimed that no marital rape law exists.
Prior to 1979, instances of marital rape were under the purview of family law instead of criminal law. Mr Justice Shazado Sheikh, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan however has disagree with this analysis, stating that the Ss 375/376 PPC do in fact criminalise marital rape. This position has been supported by other jurist who point out that the legislatures removal of valid marriage as an exception to rape means that marital rape has been criminalised, despite the absence of specific legislation. Women's right NGO' the Aurat Fondation has supported this view
Women's rights in marriage
There has, historically, been a conception of the conjugal right within marriage. This concept continues to be recognized as law in Pakistan. There are no recorded cases of marital rape being successfully prosecuted against legally married couples in Pakistan.