Prof Murad Moosa Khan, head of the Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University and Hospital

Workshop ponders ways of reducing suicide cases

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The number of suicide incidents and attempts to commit it is increasing by the day and almost 90 per cent of victims are suffering from subtle or sometimes diagnosed mental pressure, leading them to think about ending their lives.

Prof Syed Haroon Ahmed, President of Pakistan Association for Mental Health, said this on Sunday while speaking at a seminar on “Building awareness-reducing risk: mental illness and suicide,” held at the Jinnah Medical and Dental College.

He said that around 5,800 people committed suicide from January to September 2006 and the figure is alarmingly high.

Haroon Ahmed said that people who commit suicide could be divided into two categories; one group just attempts to commit it and they have much more chances of survival, whereas the second group completely makes up its mind that no chances of its survival is left once the attempt is made.

He also said failure in marital relationships and poverty are two major factors behind the suicide cases.

Prof Murad Moosa Khan, head of the Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University and Hospital, delivered a presentation titled, “Beyond Rates: The tragedy of suicide in Pakistan,” saying that the suicide rate in Pakistan is low as compared to other parts of the world and the trend could be stopped if problems including psychological, biological and social are properly addressed.

He said that 0.8 million to one million people, aged five to 44, commit suicide every year worldwide and the trend among people aged 45 and above is less.

He said that 80 per cent of people, who make suicide attempts, are patients of clinical depression and 90 per cent of them are facing psychiatric illness.

According to him, mental disorder could be treated properly and the religion and social culture could play a vital role in containing the suicide trends among people.

He said that the ratio of suicide cases increased in the late 80s since when 52pc cases were registered in Sindh alone.

Javed Akber Raiz, Town Police Officer Site, said that the police always help relatives of the victims and it was only a misconception that the police harass the family members and involve them in long proceedings without any good reasons.

Nusrat Nasrullah, a senior journalist and columnist, said the suicide attempt is a final resort on the part of the individual once he/she fails to communicate with people and family members.

The News International