Of the 1,500 couples who applied for divorce in 33 family courts in the garrison city of Rawalpindi this year, 270 couples have ended their marriages while 778 cases are pending.

Demand for dowry and ill-treatment by parents-in-law have been cited as prominent reasons for going splitsville.

But the break up of some marriages has been blamed on excessive use of cellphones or for equally vague reasons such as no access to computers.

“After three months of marriage my husband and his parents started taunting me for not bringing in dowry. So I decided to get divorce,” a young litigant told the Daily Times.

Around 300 women sought separation because their husbands wanted to marry for a second time. Over 150 women mentioned misbehaviour by their mothers-in-law as the reason for divorce.

Financial discomfort too led many women to courts. Over one hundred women moved courts because their husbands were jobless and it was hard for them to be together.

Twenty-three marriages fell victim to “Wata Sata” (swapping of matches).

Some women sought divorce because their husbands did not spend time with them and spoke to strangers through the night on cellphones.