Four women critically injured in Pakistan acid attack

Islamabad, July 21 :

Four women were seriously wounded Monday after being attacked with acid by two men riding a motorbike in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan, a police official said.

The attack took place in the city’s Shariab market when the women were out shopping. The men, who were armed, hurled acid at them and fled the scene, Quetta Police Superintendent Imran Quereshi told Efe news agency.

The victims, who suffered serious burns on their faces, were admitted to the Bolan Medical Complex hospital in the city.

The cause of the attack remains unknown and no suspects were immediately arrested.

Baluchistan province, with Quetta as its capital, borders Afghanistan and Iran, and is the largest but the least populated province of Pakistan.

The area is the scene of repeated attacks by separatist groups, Islamic militants and mafia networks that operate throughout the country.

Acid attacks against women, which often fall under what is termed as honour crimes, are common in Pakistan where women face discrimination in all spheres of social life.

-IANS/EFE