A FEW days ago, the suicide attempt by a widow aged 32 years along with her daughters aged 6 and 2 years in Ghaghar Phatak area of Karachi should have been enough to prick the conscience of the stakeholders. But, seemingly, it failed to do any such thing, and the incident is all but forgotten. As per Article 9 of the Constitution, protection of life and property by the state is the part of the fundamental rights package that the people expect to have in the country.

The previous legislature had omitted suicide attempt from the list of crimes under section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, but this may not be enough. The trend of suicide attempts warrants urgent attention, which it does not get because it is mostly committed by people belonging to the lower strata of society as they are the ones who are victimised by our socioeconomic system that is seriously exploitative.

There is need to look deeper into the issue, and one of the ways to do that is to enforce an efficient and effective justice system.

The increasing trend of suicide attempts across the country calls for the judiciary to consider taking a suo motu action.

Abdul Fatah
Naudero

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2023