Man kills five children in Multan

Woman ends her life after giving poison to three daughters

MULTAN/BAHAWALPUR: In two tragic incidents, a father killed his five children and attempted suicide later on, while a mother gave poisonous substance to her three daughters and also attempted suicide. The mother expired later on while the father was struggling for his life in hospital.

In the first incident, a man attempted suicide after killing his five children over a domestic dispute in a Layyah village on Thursday. According to hospital and police sources, one Tariq Ismail allegedly gave poisonous tablets to his children -- Tayaba Tariq, 12, Saba, 6, Tanzila, 9, Shanza, 8, and Tayyab, 11. Later, Tariq himself swallowed poisonous pills. As a result, they fell unconscious. They were shifted to a Layyah hospital, but the doctors referred them to the Multan Nishtar Hospital due to their critical condition. However, all the children died in the Nishtar Hospital.

Tariq’s wife had contracted a second marriage after getting divorce from him. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif sought a detailed report from the Layyah district police. The CM has also expressed sorrow and grief over the incident.

In the second incident, a woman committed suicide after administering poisonous substance to her three minor daughters in the Aali Wahan village of Bahawalpur over poverty issues on Thursday afternoon.

Shahnaz Bibi, 25, wife of Syed Imran Shah of Naushara Jadeed police station, administered 'Kala Pathar' to her daughters – one-and-a-half years old Bakhtawar, 4-year-old Zainab and 6-year-old Rubab, and then committed suicide.

According to Syed Altaf Shah, the father of Shahnaz, the incident took place due to poverty as his son-in-law worked as a grocery seller and had very limited resources.

The children were rushed to Bahawal Victoria Hospital in critical conditions where Zainab was shifted to ICU and two other girls were stated to be in stable condition. The Bahawalpur Deputy Commissioner visited the BVH and met with MS Dr Javed Akhtar and inquired after the health of the girls. He ordered all possible medical facilities for the girls.