RAHIM YAR KHAN: A man allegedly threw acid on his wife and two children after a household dispute in Ghareeb Shah area of Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan district on Sunday.

The woman was living at her parents' home after a dispute between herself and her unemployed husband.

When the accused went to his in-laws to bring his wife and children back, another dispute arose following the the woman's refusal.

The refusal enraged the husband, after which he threw acid on his wife, which also splashed onto the two children, who were next to their mother.

The children are aged seven years and one-and-a-half years, according to the victims's family.

The woman's eyes, and the seven-year-old child's eyes were affected in the attack.

The woman and her children are undergoing treatment at Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan. Doctors stated that the woman had suffered 40 per cent burns on her body while the children suffered 20 per cent burns each.

Between 150 and 400 cases of acid attacks are reported in Pakistan every year. As many as 80 per cent of the victims are women, and almost 70 per cent are below 18. Such attacks are not used to kill the victim but to cause disfigurement, and can often cause blindness, hearing loss and physical and mental pain.

Statistics show that a common trigger is domestic dispute.

Besides domestic disputes, motives behind these cases include revenge, grievance of divorce, watta sattaor compensation marriage, monetary dispute, rejection of marriage proposal, suspicions of illicit relations, marriage of choice, quarrel with husband, property dispute and family feud.