Incidents of acid attack and violence against women have risen sharply in Faisalabad during the month of June, Minute Mirror has learnt.
Successive incidents have forced the Punjab government to take notice of violence against women.
Faisalabad district has become unsafe for women, with the police only taking notice of such incidents without concrete steps to prevent these heinous acts.
According to official figures released by the Faisalabad police, violence against women has become common occurrence throughout the district. So far this year, 39 women have been killed, including two minor girls, while 11 women have been killed in the name of honor. Moreover, attempts were made to kill eight women, but they managed to save their lives. Similarly, 16 women were subjected to the worst forms of violence with two women subjected to acid attacks, the figures showed.
According to the police report, 291 women were harassed in various ways, while 240 women were abused. 146 women were threatened with other serious consequences, including rape, while 145 women faced rape attempts. The official figures reveal that 544 women were abducted across the district, including 379 unmarried girls and 165 married women.
The Punjab government took notice of the increasing incidents of acid attack and violence against women in Faisalabad. To this effect, Punjab Minister for Home Affairs Ataullah Tarar visited Faisalabad and Allied Hospital’s burn unit, where women were undergoing treatment for acid attacks. On this occasion, he also urged the hospital management to provide the best treatment to the women.
Talking to the media, he said that measures were being taken to curb incidents of violence against women. He added that to prevent such incidents, the government was actively enforcing the existing laws and raising awareness in society.
The minister further said that the Punjab government has a zero-tolerance policy regarding violence against women and children. An alert has been issued to prevent violence against women across the province, for which an emergency agency is being considered, he added. Punjab government has taken stern notice of violence against women, and effective action has been taken by talking to the prosecution to get the arrested accused punished, he stressed.
MPAs Zafar Iqbal Nagra, Mian Ajmal Asif, RPO Babar Sarfraz Alpa, Deputy Commissioner Sohail Ashraf, CPO Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, Additional Deputy Commissioner General Qaiser Abbas Rind, ACs Muhammad Omar Maqbool, Sahibzada Muhammad Yousuf, Faisalabad Medical University VC Dr Zafar Ali Chaudhry and others were present.
