Love marriage ends with suicide

Haleema was the first to end her life by hanging herself from the roof, Tariq Hussain followed suit within 5 hours.

GILGIT: A couple, who came together three years ago after having fallen in love with each other, committed suicide in a remote village of Gilgit. A police official said on Thursday that the couple left behind two children to mourn their death.

Haleema, 27, was the first to end her life by hanging herself from the roof, whereas Tariq Hussain followed suit within five hours.

The incident occurred at Gahkuch, about 55 kilometres from Gilgit, which is the capital town of Ghizer Valley, a police official in the Gahkuch Police Station said. “We are trying to determine the reasons that led to this unfortunate incident,” said the official.

He said that the police was not in a position to comment on the reason behind the incident. “There were no reports in the police station against the couple nor did the couple ever register a complaint against anyone,” he said.

Tariq Hussain, 30, was a worker at a carwash centre, while Halima was a teacher in a school. The couple had two children — a boy and a girl.

Police revealed that parents of both the deceased were reluctant to have autopsy of the dead but said the government decided against their decision. “Postmortems have been carried out despite the heirs’ reluctance,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2011.