A man accused of throwing acid on a woman in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area has been arrested, with police claiming the woman’s husband paid him to carry out the attack.
Police said that they traced the suspect through CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television] footage and other technical evidence. During questioning, the suspect allegedly told investigators that the woman’s husband had given him money to attack her.
Police have also arrested the woman’s husband and are investigating his involvement in the incident.
The arrests come as police continue to deal with acid attacks in Karachi, including an incident earlier this month in which a 35-year-old woman suffered burns in the city’s Upper Gizri area.
Police said that an unidentified attacker targeted the woman near Nasir Filter Plant as she was returning home, within the jurisdiction of Clifton police station.
Separately, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior has approved a bill proposing the death penalty for acid attacks as part of amendments to criminal laws.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, moved by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir, seeks changes to Section 336B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which deals with injuries caused by corrosive substances.
The proposed amendment recommends “death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment of not less than 14 years and a fine of Rs2 million” for acid attacks.
The bill cited a recent acid attack on a female doctor in Quetta and said that such attacks continue to cause permanent disfigurement and trauma despite changes made to the law in 2011.
