Pakistan does not have a registry for suicide, and does not report its data on suicide to WHO. How can Pakistan report what it does not collect? Hence the need to start collecting data on suicide.
Recently, a court of law reversed a basic clause regarding suicide, and declared it to be a criminal act, as if to say that suicide cannot be seen as a person’s right to die. This is being challenged by many civil society groups. As Durkheim said in 1879, suicide is a social act; and this is how it needs to be seen.
She was about 20 years old and a third-year student in a private medical college in Sindh. A faculty member asked for some money, and if she were not to comply, he would fail her. This was his threat. She shared this stress with her father, who spoke with the VC, but nothing changed. CCTV footage showed her with a bunch of students, and they all seemed to be targeting her. No sound was heard, and the family concluded that the students were also harassing her. A false ID was created and used to increase her harassment and also to create friction among the students. The nature of the harassment was not revealed.
She belonged to an educated family, and her communication with the family was commendable. She shared her concerns with her father and uncle, and was worried about her mother. It seemed they all provided her with moral support. She spoke with her younger sister the evening before the fateful day. "You must get me justice," she had said. The family was determined to pursue justice and had responded to the police investigation report in writing, submitting this response to the IG of police. The family had no enemies and embodied a peaceful attitude, which was now being shaken. When you feel hopeless, you begin to protest and use harsh language... This social environment is changing us.
She had many friends, and some of them shared her voice message of sheer agony as she pleaded, asking why her friends were not supporting her. After her death, no college friend or colleague came to offer condolences, something that surprised her family.
Pakistan currently lacks a national suicide registry, making it impossible to report accurate data to the WHO or formulate effective, evidence-based prevention strategies
Suicide Assessment?
How is a suicide to be assessed? Will the police first try to establish whether it was a murder or a suicide? Romaina died by shooting herself in her own home. The evening before, she had told her younger sister that her case should be pursued. She suffered stresses that she was unable to cope with. Her family wants to hold her medical college responsible for the stresses Romaina experienced. The medical college, in turn, wants to show how all steps for preventing harassment at the workplace were followed, and that it was not responsible for her suicide. Furthermore, the primary accused (a faculty member of the college and named in the FIR) was arrested and is in jail. The police have done considerable investigations, and the matter is in court. The following steps, it seems, were taken:
| # | General Steps | Fehmida Leghari Case |
| 1 | Suicide reported. | Yes. At home. |
| 2 | FIR made at the police station. | Yes. An accused mentioned. He had demanded. |
| 3 | Police conducted the investigation. (Police conduct forensic investigation, not psychological.) | Person mentioned in FIR is under arrest. He "'reportedly demanded Rs40,000 in exchange for passing an examination." |
| 4 | Some material has been sent to Lahore for forensic assessment. | Family waiting for the forensic report. |
A Framework is Needed
A framework is needed for the assessment of a suicide, if it is to be more than a police issue. Two sets of determinants are needed—the family and the workplace. Specific suicide cases can be taken to begin developing a framework for suicide assessment.
Considerable material is to be found at the global level and also at the national and local levels. It seems that in Pakistan, the issue is not whether relevant material is available for investigating suicides. There are two issues worth probing:
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Given the poor 'reputation/credibility' of the police in Pakistan, can their investigation be trusted?
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What does the public know about police investigations, and what could the family and dear ones do if they are not satisfied with the police investigations?
The police investigation report in the concerned case was quite comprehensive, but the family had some serious reservations. A possible solution could be to integrate family objections into the investigation, and to make public what the parties concerned are doing. Then, allow the courts to mediate. The following steps could be considered in the suicide assessment framework:
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Death reported to the police.
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Police conduct the investigation to establish the cause of death (homicide, accident, suicide, natural, or undetermined).
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Investigation report made public.
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Family reacts to the report and submits its reservations to the police.
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Family’s reservations are to be recorded, and the police asked to respond.
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Final settlement in court.
Integration of the family perspective in the police report would be a special addition to the process in place. However, not all families would be educated enough to pursue this process. The government should offer assistance through its welfare departments for families to integrate their views for the final arbitration in the course of law. How is a court of law to become merit-based?
The vision of a society where no suicide takes place because of the insensitivities of the institutions where the person worked or learned is a distant vision, but work towards it has to start now.