ISLAMABAD: A jobless Pakistani father of two set himself alight in a suicide bid outside parliament on Monday and was admitted to hospital in a critical condition, officials said.

Raja Khan, from the rural town of Naushero Feroz in southern Sindh province, sprinkled himself with fuel before setting himself alight, police spokesman Naeem Iqbal told AFP.

Police officials on duty rushed to save the man's life and took him to hospital in a serious condition, Iqbal said.

Khan left behind a letter, saying that he was exhausted by poverty, along with a bag of clothes and his ID card, said another police officer who spoke to AFP from the local station on condition of anonymity.

“I am responsible for my death. I am taking this step because I am fed up with my financial condition,” said the officer, quoting from the letter.

“If I die I should be buried in Islamabad. I have two children. The government should take care of them.”

Police said the man appeared suddenly on the road in front of parliament.

When stopped he said “I want to die” and doused himself with kerosene from a bottle, said the police official, requesting anonymity.

Doctor Farrukh Kamal at the burns unit of the Pakistani Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said Khan was in a critical condition in intensive care.

“He has 90 percent burns. We're trying to save his life,” he told AFP.

There has been a wave of self-immolations around the world in the past year since the death in Tunisia of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old fruit seller, whose protest grew into a popular uprising that sparked the “Arab Spring”.

In southwest China, nine Tibetans have set fire to themselves over recent months in protest at what they say is Beijing's repression of their religion and culture.