Sadly, there are too many Pakistanis who know what a bomb explosion or a gunshot sounds like. We live in circumstances that can cause much mental trauma. There are many who hold a negative view of the condition of the country and the hopelessness of its future, while others simply fear stepping out of their homes. These can be symptomatic of various mental health conditions — depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety — which the population does not pay heed to because it simply lacks awareness about them. However, it is quite clear that given the various socio-political crises and serious security problems the country is facing, mental illness is a huge problem and deserves to be treated as such.
With the passing of this law in Sindh, we still await its implementation and hope that other provinces recognise the gravity of the issue soon. This is important for the sake of the child who has witnessed his mother or father being killed, for the adolescent who has watched the handlebar of a motorcycle involved in a bomb blast land in his yard, and for the wife who had to pull her husband’s body out of his car after a roadside bomb detonated. All provincial governments must pass legislation related to mental health issues and then see to it that it is properly implemented. There is a mental health crisis in the country and the federal and provincial governments need to prioritise the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2014.
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