DERA GHAZI KHAN: The district government has imposed a ban on the sale of wheat pills for wheat storage in view of rising suicide incidents across the district.

Action under Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code will be taken against those selling wheat pills in the district.

A notification in this regard has also been issued by Deputy Commissioner Shahid Zaman Lak, which will remain in effect until Feb 23.

Easy availability of poisonous wheat pills is being linked to a disturbing rise in incidents of suicide and homicide among poverty-stricken families. These pills, commonly used to protect stored wheat grain from insects, are now being sold without any checks.

Alarming statistics from the teaching hospital of the Ghazi Medical College reveal that in 2022, there were 145 reported cases of people taking these poisonous wheat pills and 54 of them lost their lives. During the last year, there were 225 reported cases of poison ingestion, resulting in 75 fatalities.

This is not the first instance of lethal substances being misused in the region. Previously, a toxic chemical, paraphenylenediamine, commonly known as Kala Pathar, was being used for suicides due to its colourless and tasteless nature. Now due to the efforts of Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital intensive care unit incharge Dr Ibrar Khosa, who pursued the case, the district government has imposed a ban on wheat storage pills .

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2024