TIMERGARA: As many as 11 people, including women and young girls, committed suicide in parts of Lower Dir during the last one and a half month, official sources told Dawn on Monday.

According to data collected by Dawn from various police stations in Lower Dir, two girls, Najma and Salma, residents of Khazana Shuntala took poisonous pills to end their lives on July 19. Salma was married.

Maaz, 23, of Salim Shah village, shot himself dead on July 17. A day earlier on July 16, a girl Farana, 16, also ate poisonous pills and ended her life.

Similarly, a married woman identified as wife of Mubarak Shah strangled her to death on July 11. According to the official data, Ikram Khan shot himself dead at Naway Kaly on June 27. Azizur Rehman committed suicide at Mula Banda after killing his wife on June 22. Another 23-year-old woman identified as wife of Ghulam Nabi committed suicide on June 20 in Ghurai village.

On June 11, wife of Tariq strangulated herself. Two cases of suicide were reported on June 5 wherein a 15-year-old girl, Mehnaz, shot herself dead at Sia Warghar area, while a youth, Rahim Said, ended his life at Godar Banda.

Commenting on the incidence of suicides, human rights activist Ibrash Pasha termed the situation as alarming and demanded appropriate investigation into such cases. Talking to Dawn, he said Lower Dir was a peaceful district and the ratio of murder cases was low as compared to other districts. He said the growing incidence of suicide was a bad omen for the society. Stating that pesticides and poisonous pills were being sold openly in the market, he said there should be a strict check on selling of such substances, particularly arms.

A psychiatric, Dr Salim, said failure in achieving a certain goal, frustration, mental stress and societal pressure were main causes of suicide. He said one of the reasons was unawareness among the youth of their religion that led them toward committing social crimes. He said the society needed cognitive and religious therapy to control this practice. He said parents should take extra care of their children.

Legal expert Ahmad Riaz Wardag said such cases were not properly investigated by police. “Police wind up such cases after recording statements of legal heirs that it is a suicide,” he said, adding police were required to know the exact causes of the crime.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2016