SUICIDE, a complex symptom of deep despair triggered by mental health problems, is hardly a moral issue. Punitive action for those reeling under long, silent battles harms not just sufferers but entire communities. Yet death by suicide stands criminalised by the Federal Shariat Court. The 2022 legislation through which the act was removed as a crime from the Pakistan Penal Code, has been struck down. It is worth recalling that the restored Section 325 was repealed as part of wider reforms in criminal law so that self-harm is recognised as a mental health concern rather than an offence. Interestingly, the Council of Islamic Ideology had granted unanimous approval to a bill aiming to decriminalise attempted suicide in 2018. This was heartening. It reflected growing societal consensus that addressing mental illness — much like treating physical maladies — is a desirable response that underscores the sanctity of life. Admittedly, our statute books still contain a number of archaic edicts. Unlike Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkiye, Pakistan is among the few countries that upholds the colonial categorisation of mental agony as criminal abnormality. The attitude is both ineffective and counterintuitive, and it comes with an added layer of cruelty.

Mental pain is an invisible burden exacerbated by socioeconomic anxieties. As society navigates a warren of misery — common mental disorders afflict a third of the population while the suicide toll has been reported as 10 per 100,000 — a hands-on approach is needed by including mental health in primary medical practice. Meanwhile, deep-seated stigma means confessing to depression invites derision. Those who do find private therapists are handed inflated bills after every session. A multisectoral strategy that targets suicide prevention through awareness, a widened network of essential resources, accessible and affordable therapists — including for rural populations — paired with ‘socioemotional’ response guidance, promises to save lives and amplify productivity. Social determinants — inequity, lack of education, substance abuse, childhood trauma, and genetic inheritance — all contribute to vulnerability. A setting where support is skeletal and barriers aplenty compounds psychological challenges and their repercussions. A nuanced, compassionate discourse can heal, reduce risk and remove stigma as well as open that vital window for facilitation. Gathering the shards of shattered minds is possible.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026