April 23, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1429

NAROWAL, April 22: Asghar Ali who committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills on April 18 is fourth in a family of Talwandi Kahloan village, some five kilometres from here, whose members have been succumbing to death wish at different times since 1990.

Earlier, his mother, the only sister and the father had ended their lives, all by consuming poison.

The series of fateful events started in 1990 with Asghar’s mother Haleema Bibi, wife of Muhammad Ramzan, a tubewell operator, swallowed poisonous pills over a petty domestic issue. She was rushed to hospital but could not survive.

Two years later, in 1992, Ramzan’s only daughter Nanhi also committed suicide by consuming the same kind of poisonous pills after being scolded by her father and elder brother over some domestic issue.

In 2005, Ramazan, who had become a heart patient by the time, too joined the family club by committing suicide after some domestic dispute.

Sources close to the family say Asghar, the latest link in the suicide chain, had a quarrel with his wife who went to her parents and refused to return despite his entreaties. A dejected Asghar followed in the footsteps of his three deceased family members, swallowing poisonous pills.

The survivors are Akram, Akbar, Aslam, Anwar and Arshad.

Mumtaz Ahmad, a psychologist, says mental stress may provoke extreme reaction in a person, pushing him to the extent of committing suicide. He suggests a study may be conducted focusing the family to know reasons for such extreme behaviour. Meanwhile, the family should be shifted to somewhere else to change their social and physical surroundings to avoid a recurrence of such incidents, he proposes.

According to Association of Human Rights President Advocate Khalid Mahmood Baig, lack of economic opportunities and basic amenities can also spur such behaviour among people.