Suicide incidents rise by 3pc this year

LAHORE: The trend of committing suicides has alarmingly surged in the country and during the last two months, a record increase has been registered in all the provinces. According to a survey, more than 6,500 people poisoned themselves to death. Last year from April 24, 2014, to April 23, 2015, at least 4,380 people committed suicide throughout Punjab while 8,000 were saved. In Lahore, 1,099 incidents of suicide, involving 88 girls and 143 women, and 2,000 incidents of suicide attempt were reported while dozens of others went unreported.
According to the data received by The News through various sources, 10,753 women, 3,754 children and 16,847 men committed suicide across the country. Among them, 942 incidents of suicide occurred in Balochistan, 2304 in the KP, 11,376 in Sindh and 16,727 in the Punjab. The less number of incidents in Balochistan is the result of a huge number of unreported incidents.
According to another report, more than 35,900 people in 12 years committed suicide. According to global report, one suicide case is reported in every 40 seconds in the world and the incidents have exceeded the figure of one million. Psychologists have affirmed that the thought of suicide occupies man briefly and if those brief moments are controlled, the trend can be drastically weakened. They say suicide is resorted to in case of absence of compromise or failure in beating a situation of frustration.
The report has revealed that poisoning is the top means of committing suicide, followed by strangling, shooting to death and jumping before a train or drowning in water. Accordingly, the more intense the reason is, the more gory the means of suicide are opted for.
At domestic level, excessive sleeping pills, poisonous substance, putting oneself to fire are easily available means to suicide. Further, poverty, unemployment, domestic and family issues, failure in love affair and examinations are prime reasons for suicides. However, these reasons vary according to the country and its economic and social milieus.
Psychologist and project director of an organisation working for rights of the youth Dr Qamaruzzaman has said that the trend of suicide is dominant in the age group of 14-27 years. A government hospital psychologist Dr Fakhruddin has said that it was a shocking thing that the trend is on the rise. Representative of WHO in Pakistan Rabia Razzaq told The News that easily available means of committing suicide should be kept away from public access, while prisoners should be better taken care of mentally.
She said that a mental health ordinance was promulgated in Pakistan in 2001 but it was not implemented in letter and spirit. Several police officers told The News that real figures are impossible to get. According to international NGOs, the youth are a quarter of the suicide victims and this ratio is rising in Pakistan. Committing suicide is a crime and CrPC Act 325. According to Edhi Foundation report, the trend is on the rise in small and big cities.
The report reads that there are certain mass suicide incidents. Another psychologist Dr Nusrat Habib Rana has said the spring season arouses feelings of mirth and woe intensely, while suicide incidents in summer outnumber those in other seasons due to irritation and lack of tolerance in this season.