DG Khan bans wheat pills after surge in suicides

Authorities in Dera Ghazi Khan have moved to curb a deadly new trend in suicides: the ingestion of toxic "wheat pills" intended to preserve harvested grain.

In a span of one year, the district's Trauma Centre alone treated 215 cases of wheat-pill poisoning, 55 of which proved fatal.

Over the past four months, as the wheat harvest got underway, doctors have already admitted 81 more cases, with rural health centres and civil hospitals reporting even higher numbers.

Historically, "black stone" poisonings were the method of choice for self-harm and covert killings in the region.

After the district administration banned open sales of that toxic mineral, those figures declined significantly. However, the newer practice of storing poisonous insecticide tablets among harvested wheat kernels has surged in popularity, leading to the current public health crisis.

During a recent meeting of the District Coordination Committee, members expressed grave concern over the alarming statistics. They urged Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Usman Khalid to collaborate with the Food Department to regulate or outright prohibit the sale of these grain-preservation pills. Sheikh Muhammad Naqeeb, president of the Central Traders Association, along with city officials Jan Alam Khan Laghari, Javed Haideri, and Khurram Ishaq, demanded immediate action to safeguard lives and stem further loss.

Responding to these calls, Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed Chaudhry invoked Section?144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, enforcing a one-month ban on the possession, purchase, and sale of both wheat pills and black stone across the district. The order, issued at the written request of the Medical Superintendent of the Teaching Hospital and the Deputy Director of Agriculture, took effect immediately.

"The ICU and emergency departments have seen a marked increase in young patients presenting with deliberate ingestion of these toxic substances," the hospital report warned. "Without prompt intervention, we risk losing more of our youth to this preventable menace."

Under the ban, law enforcement officers have been instructed to confiscate any stockpiles of grain-preservation tablets and black stone found in markets.