Extreme step: Man poisons five children, commits suicide in Layyah

Ismail was said to be under intense stress due to poverty

MULTAN: A man killed his five children by poisoning them before committing suicide in the same manner in a village in Layyah District on Thursday morning, according to local police.

The father has been identified as Tariq Ismail, 30, a resident of Layyah.

The children were identified as a boy named Tayyab, 11, and four girls named Tayyabbah, 12, Tanzeela, nine, Shanzeh, eight, and Saba, six.

All of the children were found dead on the spot while Ismail was shifted to Nishtar Hospital Multan, where he died later in the day.

Ismail’s brother, Hassan, who lived next door, was the first to notice something was wrong. Hassan found his brother and the children in an unconscious state and took them to the hospital.

The initial investigation suggests that Ismail’s wife divorced him last year to marry another man, leaving Ismail to care for the children.

Tariq said that his brother used to work as a cook in Lahore but moved back after the divorce to raise his children. He had been working as a labourer since moving back.

He added that Ismail was under intense stress due to poverty and that his stress level had been compounded by his wife leaving him and the added responsibility of raising the children.

The local police told The Express Tribune that a Punjab forensic agency team had reached the scene of the crime from Dera Ghazi Khan to assist the investigation.

Notice of incident

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed sorrow and grief over the incident and has condemned the brutal behavior of the father.

He has given directives to the district administration to provide him with a report on the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2017.