THERE was a dialogue in a movie I watched a while ago to the effect that scientific advancement had invented different instruments to measure pressure, but they had utterly failed to measure the pressure that is caused by the circumstances on the human mind. Truly, the suicide rate among our youngsters has been increasing day by day owing to such social pressures.

Suicide is the protest of an individual against the cruelties of society. After several of these suicides, we recently heard of the heart-wrenching news of the loss of a Central Superior Services (CSS) officer. Bilal Pasha, a handsome young man, was heading Bannu Cantonment.

I was disgusted and shocked to know that he is no more with us. Initially, it was claimed that it was a natural death casued by cardiac arrest, but later it emerged that he had died of a bullet injury in his head, and it was possibly a case of suicide.

A young man from a humble, rural background of Khanewal in a social media post could be seen accompanied by his father, a daily wage labourer. Writing the post, he had said he was proud of passing CSS 2018 and getting a placement in the Cantonment Group.

He would often tell his inspirational story in lectures and videos to inspire the younger generation, but his suicide has left his social media followers rather depressed and dejected.

This rotten system is responsible for the suicide of a CSS officer, because after 75 years of freedom, our civil servants are not free as our society is still in the grip of the nexus between politicians and the establishment. Today’s generation cannot be controlled by such tactics.

The working environment of offices in Pakistan, be they in the public or private sector, is not a secret. Although not all, the heads of most departments are sadists and seem to be mentally challenged, posing themselves as intellectuals and mentally superior to anyone who happens to be their subordinate.

There is insecurity, fear, and a dicta- torial mindset everywhere. So, what is left for the youth? Loss of intellectual minds day by day in suicides or brain drain is a serious threat to the country.

Such a harsh, gloomy scenario makes immigration the only viable option for the talented lot because in this system there is no space for them.

Their votes cannot bring a real change, and there is no merit in academic or professional lives. Even people who manage to enter this vicious system either surrender or become part of it, becoming conformists.

We keep talking of the dangers if the country defaults economically, but we should also keep an eye on the country’s moral, emotional and social default.

Ghulam Mustafa Shah
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023