The police said that the woman, identified as Momel and in her early 30s, was arrested on Thursday for throwing acid at her lover in the Makhdoom Rashid area of the central city of Multan.
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Violence against women is not uncommon in Pakistan where almost 1,000 women are killed each year in so-called “honour killings” for violating conservative norms on love and marriage.
Monil Mai, 32, wanted to marry her boyfriend Sadaqat Ali so that she could divorce her husband, according to local police official Bashir Ahmed.
The man, who is in his 20s, is being treated in hospital in Multan after suffering burns to 50% of his body.
Doctors are fighting to save Ali’s life, he said.
Ali’s family had lodged a complaint with the Multan police who registered a criminal case against Mai. She attacked him with acid in “defense” when he was torturing her after forcefully entering her house. Women attacking men with acid is however rare. It is a heinous crime whether it is committed against a woman or a man. It is very rare that women commit such crimes.
Acid is readily available in agricultural southern Punjab because of its use in farming. The pair had been conducting an affair for a number of years, AFP reports. As many as 80 per cent of the victims are women.
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Statistics show that a common trigger behind these attacks is domestic dispute.
