At least 16 persons committed suicide reportedly due to poor economic conditions and family disputes in the provincial capital in January.
The victims included five women.
According to data complied by Edhi Foundation, 25-year-old Waqas committed suicide in Manawan by hanging himself.
He reportedly was frustrated due to poor economic conditions.
In Multani Colony, 20-year-old Nimrat ended her life by swallowing poisonous pills. She reportedly was depressed due to personal reasons. In Batapur, a police constable, Muhammad Arfan, 33, shot himself dead due to unknown reasons.
In Shahdara, a 45-year-old man terminated his life by lying before a speeding train.
In Kot Lakhpat, 41-year-old Safiya Bibi committed suicide by consuming poison. She was frustrated due to family disputes. In Harbancepura, 50-year-old Sabir committed suicide by hanging himself. the victim, a resident of Amir Town, was frustrated due to his poor domestic conditions.
In North Containment, a 17-year-old girl committed suicide by hanging herself due to unknown reasons. In Nishter Colony, a 30-year-old woman claimed her life by self-immolation. She reportedly had a fight with her husband at her house in Asif Town.
In Hayer village, 28-year-old Safiya Bibi committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills.
In Bata Park, Shahdara, a 35-year-old man committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills. In Green Town, an 18-year-old boy identified as Suleman committed suicide by consuming poison.
In Farakhabad, Shahdara, an 18-year-old boy committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills. In Liaqatabad, Mohsin shot himself dead after murdering his wife and daughter.
He was frustrated due to poor economic conditions. In a similar incident reported in Raiwind, a man attempted suicide after poisoning his three daughters reportedly out of frustration over poverty.
He was booked on charges of murder and attempt to murder by Raiwind police on the complaint of his wife. His 14-year-old girl had died in the incident.
According to Alia Ameen, the mother, she had two boys and three daughters.
She told the police that her husband Karamat had dropped her and her sons Tassawar and Rahat Hussain at her parents’ home, promising to take them back home in a while.
However, when he did not return for half an hour, she left for her home on foot. While they were on the way, her husband arrived on a motorbike and took them home. “When I entered home, I saw my 10-year-old daughter Rima vomiting,” she added.
When enquired, her 14 and seven years old daughters told her their father had forced them to swallow poisonous pills.
When she raised hue and cry, Karamat also swallowed poison. All the four victims’ condition deteriorated and they were shifted to hospital for treatment. However, Zainab did not survive.
A clinical psychologist, Asma Ahmad, told The Express Tribune that reasons behind suicide ranged from poor economic condition, isolation, lack of family time due to busy life, economic meltdown, inflation, poverty and spending excessive time on social media to failure.
She said negative thoughts, frustration, and anxiety piled up among the victims for a long time and was triggered by some incident.
She said pinning the problem on an obvious happening only like failure in exams or rise in inflation was not the way to approach the problem.
Edhi Foundation Communication and Control Room in charge Younas Bhatti said that the life of common people had become painful and distressful to an unbearable level and they were finding it hard to live a normal life.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2023.
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