Pakistan increases Diyat amount by 97% to over Rs. 19 million due to rising silver prices

The federal government has significantly increased the value of diyat (blood money) for the fiscal year 2026-27, setting the amount at more than Rs19 million due to a sharp rise in silver prices.

The federal government has significantly increased the value of diyat (blood money) for the fiscal year 2026-27, setting the amount at more than Rs. 19 million due to a sharp rise in silver prices. The new value represents an increase of nearly 97 percent compared to the previous year.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the official value of diyat has been fixed at Rs. 19,352,390 in accordance with the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860.

Under Pakistani law, diyat refers to the compensation paid by an offender to the heirs of a person killed in a criminal case. The amount is determined based on the value of 30,630 grams of silver, as outlined in Section 323 of the PPC.

The latest increase is mainly linked to the significant rise in silver prices. The diyat amount for the fiscal year 2025-26 was Rs. 9,828,670, meaning the new figure has almost doubled within one year.

The value of diyat has continued to rise in recent years due to fluctuations in precious metal prices. For the fiscal year 2023-24, the amount was fixed at Rs. 6,757,902, which was already a 56 percent increase from Rs. 4,318,524 in 2022-23.

Section 323 of the Pakistan Penal Code states that courts must determine the diyat amount while considering Islamic injunctions from the Quran and Sunnah, as well as the financial circumstances of both the convicted person and the victim’s heirs. However, the amount cannot be lower than the value of 30,630 grams of silver.

The law also requires the federal government to announce the value of silver through an official notification each year. This declared value becomes the basis for calculating the minimum diyat amount for that financial year.

The increase has renewed discussion over the method used to calculate blood money. In July 2025, a proposed amendment was introduced in the Senate suggesting that the minimum diyat calculation should be changed from 30,630 grams of silver to either 2,000 grams of gold or one-fourth of the assets owned by the convicted person.

The latest notification highlights how changes in precious metal markets can directly affect legal compensation amounts in Pakistan. As silver prices continue to fluctuate, the annual revision of diyat remains an important financial and legal matter affecting victims’ families and the criminal justice system.