RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday sentenced a man to prison for 29 years for throwing acid on a woman. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.7 million. ATC judge Muhammad Asghar heard the case. After recording statements of witnesses and examining the evidence put up by the prosecution, the court sentenced the accused to 29 years of imprisonment. The court also imposed fine of Rs 1.7 million on Muhammad Zubair. The court ruled that the convict would have to undergo additional imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine. An FIR was registered at Sadiqabad Police Station on October 26, 2015 against the convict. The convict had thrown acid on the woman in Sadiqabad area. Acid attacks against women on the rise. The crime is perpetrated to exact revenge usually for refusing marriage proposal. Honour killing: Women’s Parliamentary Caucus Secretary MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik on Tuesday expressed great concern and anguish over the honour killing through electrocution of two underage children: a 15 years old girl and a 17 year old boy in Karachi. The ‘execution’ of the couple was carried out on the orders of a so called ‘influential tribal council’. “This is yet another glaring example of paganism that our society is beset with,” she said in a statement on Tuesday. Shaista Pervaiz Malik sought exemplary punishment for members of the Jirga council for taking the law in their own hands and committing murders. “This is a heinous crime that is an offence not only in the common law, but in the eyes of Allah and in Sharia,” she said. She further added that such criminal acts under the garb of jirgas and panchayats had destroyed the centuries old well regarded indigenous mechanism for settling disputes and keeping the societies/communities peaceful, intact, and together. “Why are these jirgas pnd panchayats still operating? They were earlier banned by the high courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Why have concrete measures not been taken to end them? she asked. “There is empirical evidence that the jirgas and panchayats, based basically in rural settings, have demonstrated myopic thinking and their lack of empathy towards women and girls that has led to increased violence against women,” she said. Shaista Pervaiz Malik asked the government for taking stringent measures to eliminate jirgas and panchayats and demanded justice for the victims of the Karachi incident. Fourth schedule: A total of 8,333 persons have been included in the Fourth Schedule on the directives of federal and provincial governments. A total of 5,023 banks accounts have also been frozen so far. Three outfits have been banned and three others have been put on the watch list. Likewise, amount worth Rs 400 million has been seized. Sources privy to development said that Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and his four aides Obaidullah Obaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman and Qazi Kashaf Niaz have also been included in the Fourth Schedule. The State Bank of Pakistan has also been informed about the latest developments in bid to monitor fiscal transactions. Meanwhile, a list has also been forwarded to intelligence agencies, including Inter Service Intelligence. Interior Ministry officials said that people included in the Fourth Schedule were compelled to submit a surety bond with the district police that they would not indulge in any subversive activity. Published in Daily Times, September 13th 2017.