RAWALPINDI: A nine-year-old child was allegedly set on fire in Dhoke Ratta on Saturday night by five people, the victim’s father and police said.

The victim received burn injuries to her face, hands and arms, and was taken to the Holy Family Hospital where doctors said she was in critical condition.

Police have booked five people on charges of attempted murder, but have yet to arrest anyone in the case.

Second grade student Irum Asif was staying at her uncle’s home with her parents when she was doused in kerosene and allegedly set on fire by five people.

Her father said his in-laws lived on the first storey of the house, and his daughter was climbing the stairs when she was attacked. Locals heard the child’s cries and extinguished the fire.

Her father, Mohammad Asif, a carpenter in Abbottabad, told Dawn the suspects wanted to attack his brother-in-law Ashiq Hussain and his family by setting their house on fire, but when they saw the child climbing the stairs they decided to attack her instead.

He said he had no enmity with anyone in the city, since he lives in Abbottabad, but his brother-in-law had been injured after being targeted by a man on Jan 24 over a petty dispute.

He said he was visiting Rawalpindi with his wife and three children to inquire about his brother-in-law’s health, and had been staying at his home. He said his daughter was targeted by the man who injured his brother-in-law and four others.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2017