A man has been blinded by his own father and siblings for allegedly wanting to marry a girl he fell in love with in southwestern Pakistan.
Abdul Baqi, 22, thought his family would help him get married. Instead, his father and four brothers accused him of violating Islamic values and removed his eyes to punish him.
The incident occurred May 13. His brothers and father locked his mother and sisters in a room and took Baqi to the corner of the house, where they tied his hands and legs and started beating him with batons.
"One of my brothers removed my eyeball using a tea spoon. Then my father took the knife and cut it as it was hanging on my face," Baqi told VOA.
"One of them [brothers] stepped on my head to make sure I that I do not move and others removed my second eye," Baqi added.
Baqi is a resident of the Loralai area of Balochistan province.
He did not expect that his own family would attack him and blind him. In retrospect, he said he was ready for any consequences.
"If they would have even killed me, I would have still kept my promise of love and would have not begged for my life," Baqi told VOA.
Ties to Taliban
Baqi said his brothers have ties to the Taliban and are very conservative. His brothers had warned him that speaking to a girl over the phone was an un-Islamic act and that he was an infidel.
One of his brothers, who is 18, had just returned from jihad from Afghanistan on the day of the attack.
"It was his first time that he went to Afghanistan. He was shouting, 'Thank Allah, Allah is great, Jihad is only for Allah, long live mujahedeen,' " Baqi said.
The brother "went on to say that we are making a mistake by going to Afghanistan for jihad. 'Actual Jihad is here in our house. The first jihad is here against this infidel.' He was talking about me as I was bleeding from my wounds," Baqi added.
WATCH: Pakistan Man Blinded by Father, Brothers for Falling in Love
Arrests
Baqi said a friend transported him to a hospital after the attack, and once in the hospital, he informed police about what had happened.
Police arrested his father along with two of his brothers. The other two brothers escaped and are at large.
The suspects told police that Baqi was suicidal and wanted to kill himself — that's why they tied his hands and legs. Baqi rejected those claims. He said his family would attack him again.
After finding out about what had happened with Baqi, the girl's family agreed to their daughter's marriage with him.
"The family of my love found out about the incident and sympathized with me and told me that they would marry their daughter to me without any dowry," Baqi said.
