CM takes notice of suicide of father of five

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the suicide of Mir Hassan, who self-immolated last week in Karachi.

The CM has sought a detailed report both the Karachi and Mirpurkhas commissioners. Murad was told that the man hailed from Jam Nawaz Ali in District Sanghar. Poverty-stricken Mir Hassan had punished himself for failing to provide warm clothes to his five children – three daughters and two sons. His eldest kid is around 12.

The bereaved family has been living in a cramped informal settlement on a vacant ground in Korangi since they were forced to vacate their rented house recently.

According to Hassan’s widow, her husband had brought home petrol in a bottle on Wednesday. He had told her that he would sell the petrol, which he had taken out of some vehicles, to buy warm clothes for the children shivering in the cold.

The man, instead, went to the graveyard in Ibrahim Hyderi, where he attempted to end his life. Eyewitnesses said they rushed to save Hassan and put out the fire. Immediately, Hassan was moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he succumbed to his burns a day later.

In his last days, Hassan had tried to eke out a living for his family by running a donkey cart. Earlier, he had done odd jobs and labour work. At last, he was flat broke. Before his death, Hassan had written two short letters to Prime Minister Imran Khan, appealing him to help his family.