This week\u2019s sentencing of a man in Okara to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs8.1 million for throwing acid on his former mother-in-law and her minor son affirms that Pakistan\u2019s courts can deliver justice but justice alone will not end acid violence.
\nThe attack, carried out in 2017 after a rejected marriage proposal, left both victims permanently disfigured. However, the fact that it took eight years to reach a conviction reveals how slow and uneven the path to accountability remains for survivors of such horrific crimes.
\nStill, the court\u2019s decision deserves clear recognition. By handing down a substantial sentence under the Anti-Terrorism Act and relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, it demonstrated that acid attacks are neither private disputes nor lesser crimes. They are acts of calculated violence and must be treated as such.
\nPakistan has made legislative progress in this regard. The 2011 amendment to the Penal Code introduced harsher penalties, and the 2018 Acid and Burn Crime Act aimed to ensure speedy trials and medical support. But these laws have yet to be uniformly enforced. The 2018 Act remains limited to Islamabad. Provinces have been slow to adopt similar frameworks. Many police stations still fail to register cases promptly. Survivors often face threats, social stigma, and poor access to healthcare. Hospitals may refuse treatment without an FIR. Reconstructive surgery is either unavailable or unaffordable for most.
\nLegal punishment, while necessary, addresses the consequence, not the cause. Acid remains cheaply and widely available in markets across the country. A national licensing and regulation mechanism is long overdue. Punjab\u2019s proposed Acid Control Bill, which would criminalise unregulated sale and mandate licenses for vendors, should be finalised and adopted as a model for other provinces.
\nJustice also needs to extend beyond the courtroom. Survivors need rehabilitation much more than pity or disgust. They require long-term medical care, trauma counselling, and economic reintegration. Programs like Punjab\u2019s \u201cNew Life\u201d initiative offer a template, but must be expanded nationwide with serious budgetary commitments.
\nThe Okara verdict is a good starting point but nowhere close to the finish line. Now the state must ensure that no one else waits eight years for dignity, care, and a future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week\u2019s sentencing of a man in Okara to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs8.1 million for throwing acid on his former mother-in-law and her minor son affirms that Pakistan\u2019s courts can deliver justice but justice alone will not end acid violence. The attack, carried out in 2017 after a rejected marriage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-487398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n