Bushra Waiz, a young Pakistani actress, is in critical condition after suffered serious burns from an acid attack on Saturday.

A male assailant reportedly threw acid on the 18-year-old's face while she was sleeping in her home in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The man broke into her Waiz's home in the middle of the night to carry out the horrific attack after she allegedly refused to marry him.

The Waiz family claim that the assailant was her producer, Shaukat Khan, who had proposed to her earlier. Bushra's brother Akhtar said he could not make out clearly who it was as it was too dark to see but that the family is certain it is her producer.

Akhtar told Dawn.com: "I couldn't see him myself, but I am sure he was Shaukat as my sister had refused to continue working in his dramas and that's why he resorted to this act of violence."

The victim's mother spoke to the site from the hospital: "My daughter used to work as an actress and was hired by a producer named Shaukat Khan to act in his stage dramas and plays. But he was not willing to pay her and this led to a number of verbal arguments [after] which she refused to continue her acting."

She continued: "We have registered a case against Shaukat Khan as he was also forcing her to marry him," she said.

Bushra Waiz, also known as Shazia Aziz, is a singer, actress and theater artist. She has suffered burns to her face, right leg, arm and eye as a result of the attack.

An investigation is currently underway after the allegations by Waiz's family.

See photos of Bushra Waiz here.