ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's senate committee on human rights approved a draft bill raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years, to put a limit on child marriages in the country, local media reported Thursday.

Senators of the committee said that legislation for the minimum age of marriage is necessary as early marriages are also a leading cause of child deaths in the country, the News reported.

Minister of Human Rights, Shireen Mazari, said that the draft bill will be presented before parliament next month and will also be forwarded to the federal cabinet for approval.

Following the approval from the parliament, marrying out people under the age of 18 will become a punishable offense.

Earlier this month, a World Health Organization report said that 21 percent women in Pakistan get married before reaching the age of 18.

While talking to Xinhua earlier, the human rights minister said that child marriage is a complicated issue in Pakistan as the country has different versions of explaining an adult.

She said that there is a dire need of rationalizing adult age, and that any marriage under that age should be a punishable offense, adding that unless this clarity about adult age is made, issues pertaining to child marriage will continue unabated.