A man threw acid on Mahnoor Nasir at the hospital where she was being treated in the southern city of Quetta on Saturday, resulting in burns on 7 percent of her body, according to the regional prime minister’s office.
Officers killed the suspected perpetrator, Humayun Shah, an elevator operator at the medical facility, at the bus station as he tried to escape.
Shahid Rand, spokesman for the Prime Minister of Balochistan Province, said that Nasser is receiving specialized treatment in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, and may need a skin transplant abroad.
The case has highlighted the risk of violence and social disparities faced by women in Pakistan, where fears of harassment and attacks have exacerbated a rapid shortage of doctors.
Surveys indicate that about a third of women leave the profession after graduation even though they outnumber men in medical schools.
