Teenager kills friend, commits suicide in Laki Marwat

In yet another case of teenage suicides, a student on Sunday took his own life after allegedly killing his friend in Tap Takhti Khel area of Laki Marwat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The provincial police department said the student, identified as Shoaib, killed his friend before shooting himself dead, Express News reported.

Police confirmed that the two were friends, though it was not clear in what manner did Shoaib took his friend's life or why he took the dire step in the first place.

The law enforcement agency is further probing to ascertain causes of the unfortunate incident, and hope to find a clue to the occurrence soon.

In a report published in November 2020, deaths by suicide, especially among the young, appear to have been rising in the province.

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Even while K-P ranks third on the nation-wide suicide rate chart, the province has witnessed an increase in the number of cases, particularly among the young.

In October 2020, four young students committed suicide in the provincial capital. Family members said they were under enormous pressure. Some were facing peer pressure and others couldn’t cope up with the academic challenges.

According to reports collected from various police stations, more than 69 suicide cases were reported in K-P in the same year. More than 30 survived with some injuries.

Data gathered from local hospitals shows the youngest victim was 10 and the oldest was a 20-year-old. On the national level, K-P had the lowest suicide rate at 8.9% during 2012-2017. Sindh took the top spot during the same period with a 52%.

While there is no official database for the overall number of suicide cases in Pakistan, the HRCP reports suggest that the rate has steadily increased since 2015. In 2017, the total number of suicide cases documented by the HRCP stood at 3,500 from all over the country.