Female teacher dies due to burn injuries

ISLAMABAD: An 18-year-old school teacher of Murree, Maria, a burn victim, expired here on Wednesday at the Burn Centre of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

According to the report of Murree victim, eighty-five per cent of her body was burnt and multi-organ failure was the main cause of her death, a senior doctor at the Burn Centre said on Wednesday. “When she was shifted, her condition was critical. We struggled to fully support her to recuperate but couldn’t recover her from serious burn injuries.”

Maria, daughter of Sadaqat Hussain Abbasi, who was reportedly set ablaze by a male teacher for refusing his proposal on May 29 was earlier moved to local hospital of Murree for treatment than she was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi and later on May 30 she was shifted to PIMS Burn Centre.

According to family members the teacher along with four unidentified accomplices had set her on fire in revenge for refusing his marriage proposal. At the time of incident she was alone at home as all family members were attending a funeral ceremony, he added.

The local hospital of Murree will compile her post-mortem report, said PIMS management. -- APP Online adds: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the ghastly murder of Maria in Murree and accused the Punjab government and chief minister for deliberately ignoring atrocities against women in the province.

The PPP chairman said that inhuman atrocities were on the rise in the Punjab province in the absence of effective legislation as chief minister Punjab and his cabinet seemed to be taking up cosmetic and half-hearted steps as if the women were from some other planet.

He pointed out another woman was drugged, strangled and her body was burnt in a Suzuki van in Abbotabad last month by a Jirga but Punjab government seemed to be making the committees and taking superficial actions while dreadful violence continued against the innocent women.

He said that such mayhem against the womenfolk in the country’s largest province was highly condemnable acts of heinous crimes and PPP won’t tolerate the same. “We want effective legislation and administrative tools against such coward attacks on women,” he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded stern action against the culprit being part of it should be strongly punished to make example and measures should be taken to protect from such atrocities in the future.