Acid attack more heinous than homicide, tool of patriarchal violence: SC

ISLAMABAD: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that “vitriolage” (acid attack) is an offence more heinous than homicide. The ruling came after Abdul Manan, convicted for throwing acid on a young woman in Faisalabad, appealed against a 2022 Lahore High Court (LHC) order. The LHC had upheld an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) verdict sentencing him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1 million. Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, heading a three-judge bench consisting of Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, upheld the LHC order. The ruling comes only days after an acid attack on a female doctor in Quetta’s Civil Hospital. Following the attack on 29-year-old Mahnoor Nasir, doctors in Quetta went on strike, demanding a thorough investigation. “Unlike death, which consumes its victim only once, the victim of an acid assault is relegated to a living death, where they are compelled to endure the agony of their trauma and the degradation of their physical self on a daily basis,” observed Justice Kakar in a 14-page strongly worded judgment he authored. In the court ruling, federal and provincial governments were also recommended to consider accommodating acid attack victims under disability quotas along with enactment and enforcement of specialised legislation for establishment of a National Acid Survivors’ Rehabilitation Fund. The ruling added that such a statutory fund should provide comprehensive medical coverage for extensive reconstructive surgeries and specialised physical therapy. The fund should also provide mandatory access to professional trauma counselling, psychotherapy and psychiatric care for psychological and social rehabilitation. “The perpetrator’s objective is not merely to kill, but to extinguish the victim’s soul, leaving the living corpse as a permanent reminder of their depravity,” Justice Kakar said. The apex court also recommended a mandatory monthly stipend for survivors who, due to the nature of their injur