Woman leaps into river with three sons

Woman rescued; one child found dead, while search ongoing for the missing two

NOWSHERA:

In a tragic incident in the Nowshera district, three children lost their lives as they drowned in the Kabul River. The incident occurred when their distressed mother, following a fight with her husband, made the devastating decision to jump into the river along with her children.

According to the police, the woman, along with her three children, Abdul Hadi (6), Moubin (4), and Yahya (3), leaped from the Kherabad Bridge into the river near Nizampur.

Local residents, witnessing the distressing event, rushed to the scene and managed to rescue the woman in an unconscious state. Tragically, the body of Abdul Hadi was recovered from the river. The search for the bodies of the other two children became challenging due to the flooding caused by the merging of the Indus River and Kabul River in Kherabad.

Authorities promptly called upon the Rescue 1122 team, who searched for the bodies until the report was filed.

Meanwhile, the police arrested the mother on charges of killing her three young sons and attempting suicide. Further investigation revealed that the husband, a kidney patient, earned a meager monthly income of Rs20,000, while all three children also suffered from kidney ailments.

The incident unfolded after a verbal altercation between the husband and wife the previous day, during which the wife had threatened to leave the house with her children.

Sadly, this is not the first occurrence of such a tragedy in the Nowshera area. In August 2014, a similar incident took place, driven by poverty and desperation.

A woman named Shabana, hailing from Pir Sabaq, found herself living in deplorable conditions with her husband Noor Habib, who worked as a rickshaw driver. The family struggled to provide for their three daughters and one son.

In a heart-wrenching act, Shabana tied her daughters Madina (12), Mutahira (6), and Saira (2), as well as her son Hassan (8), to her body with a rope and plunged into the Kabul River. Hassan miraculously managed to break free and survive, but the other four tragically drowned. Hassan later revealed that severe poverty and frequent domestic disputes drove his mother to such a desperate act.

These distressing incidents highlight the harsh realities faced by many families in the region, where poverty and a lack of resources can lead to tragic outcomes. It underscores the urgent need for improved support systems, social welfare initiatives, and mental health services to aid vulnerable individuals and families dealing with such difficult circumstances.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2023.