Two women sent to jail for throwing acid on a girl

ATC acquits male accused in the case due to lack of evidence

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court sentenced on Tuesday two women to 14 years in prison after convicting them of throwing acid on a girl when she refused to marry an already married man.

However, the court acquitted the three male relatives of the convicts for lack of evidence and doubt on their role in the same offence.

Marvi and her daughter-in-law Uzma were found guilty of attacking and injuring Zakia Munir with acid in August 2015 in Sohrab Goth. Marvi’s husband, Ghulam Haider, and their sons, Qadir and Nadir, were exonerated.



The additional district and sessions judge (Malir), Shafi Muhammad Pirzada, who conducted the trial as an ATC judge, awarded 14 years to both the women for causing serious burn injuries to the victim, and 10 years imprisonment for the offence of attempted murder.

The court also directed the convicts to pay Rs500,000 each as compensation to the victim. In case of default, they will undergo an additional one year in prison. Both the sentences will run concurrently.

In its verdict, the court said that Uzma attacked the victim with acid and her mother-in-law helped her with common intention. However, the case against the male accused was doubtful and the benefit of doubt was extended to them, it ruled.



The victim had complained that she was alone at home when the accused persons broke in, got hold of her and Uzma threw acid on her. The victim said that she had refused a marriage proposal from Nadir a few days before the incident since he was already married.

The police arrested the accused a few days after the incident while Ghulam Haider’s daughter Fatima is still at large.

A case was lodged against the accused under Sections 324 (attempt to commit murder), 336-B (punishment for destroying or permanently impairing functioning power or capacity of an organ of body of another person or cause permanent disfigurement) and 34 (common intention) of Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim.