An acid attack survivor from Lahore, who lost her eyesight in the crime, allegedly committed by her husband and brother-in-law, recalled her harrowing experience at the hands of her in-laws and has demanded for justice to be served.
According to a report in the local media, Naila was living with her parents for eight to nine months, having left the residence of her husband due to continued abuse and ill-treatment. On the ill-fated day, she was walking to a nearby market with her younger sister, brother and father when four men, including her husband intercepted them. Her husband then proceeded to throw acid on her face from a bottle before fleeing the scene.
Naila recalled that she fell to the ground with her clothes in tatters, while her brother and father shouted for help. She added that neither the ambulance nor the police reached the scene.
Naila further revealed that she was taken to the Civil Hospital in a rickshaw “but not before the acid had made its way into my eyes” causing her world to come crashing down around her.
Naila had protested outside an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on October 17, seeking the attention of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Army Chief. She called for the pre-arrest bail granted to her brother-in-law to be revoked.
However her husband has been in jail since the incident took place in July.
An FIR had been registered against the accused on the complaint of the victim’s father on July 18 under Section 336-B of the Pakistan Penal Code which pertains to punishment for causing permanent disfigurement, and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act which pertains to punishment for acts of terrorism.
