Father, sons pour acid on man for helping the ‘enemy’

KARACHI:

Contrary to popular belief, women are not the only targets of acid throwing. On Friday, the wife of Shahbaz Chaudhry threatened to set her whole family on fire outside Bilawal House if the men who doused acid on her husband were not caught.

Chaudhry was attacked by his own relative, Khadim Hussain, and his sons and a relative, Arif Hussain, Atif Hussain, Sabir Hussain and Shahzad Iqbal on June 15 at the city court.

“Everything was all right but Hussain and his sons encircled my husband and threw a jug of acid at him,” said Farah, at a press conference at the press club. “They escaped but one of them, Arif, was arrested.”

Hussain had filed a case against Chaudhry’s relative. Chaudhry stepped in to help his cousin and submitted his property documents in court so that his relative could be release on bail. “Hussain’s family threatened my husband and warned him to keep away from the cases they had filed,” said Chaudhry’s wife, Farah. “Not only did they keep threatening but they also registered fake cases against Chaudhry at different police stations, including Sohrab Goth, Jackson and Ibrahim Haidery.”

Chaudhry asked for the matter to be resolved and the parties agreed to reach a compromise on June 15 when Hussain and his sons doused him with acid.

Farah said that this was not the first time Hussain’s family had thrown acid on someone.

“They also threw acid on our relative whom my husband helped as well and several other relatives.”

Hussain’s family did not rest after throwing acid. When Chaudhry was in the hospital they came to attack the family again on June 19 but the security guards prevented any harm.

Farah said that her husband used to run a property business in Defence. But since her husband was attacked, the family has been in severe financial and emotional trouble.

“We left our house and taking shelter somewhere else,” she said. “The children have been kicked out of school because we couldn’t pay their tuition fee.”

Chaudhry suffers from 60 per cent burns. He has lost his ability to see and hear. According to Farah, two separate FIRs have been registered for the separate attacks on her husband but the police have not yet arrested anyone.

“We are the ones hiding like criminals.”

She appealed to the president, chief justice and the chief if Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain, to take notice of the case and provide speedy justice.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2012.