Unemployment claims life in capital

An unemployed youth, scorned by poverty and depression, took his life by self-immolation in the capital city on Monday. The man, Raja Khan, tried to get near the Parliament House before setting himself on fire, in an effort to bring the attention of politicians to the suffering of a common man.

Khan, a resident of Nauwshahro Feroze, appeared near Parade Ground at around 2:30pm fully doused in petrol. He told a nearby traffic warden that he intended to set himself on fire because of helplessness and poverty. He mentioned a family with two children that he was no longer able to feed and started his dash towards D-Chowk.

The traffic warden called on nearby police to stop the man but he had already set himself on fire by the time they reached him. When the fire was finally put out, Raja Khan was almost completely burned.

He was transferred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where he died at 7.50pm in the burn victims unit.

Police later revealed that the man was carrying a bag which contained his computerised national identity card, a cell phone, two pairs of shalwar qamiz and a handwritten suicide note.

The note said:

“I am committing self-immolation on my free will and no one is responsible for it.”

“I am father of two children but unable to feed them.” The note added: “My soul will rest in peace if the government took care of my family, including two children.”

The police have informed his family. Not much attention has so far been paid to the incident by any member of the parliament, including the MNA from his own district, whom he reportedly tried to meet earlier.

With unemployment on the rise, cases like these are spreading throughout the country, but the political quarters are paying them no heed. Just some time ago a former police constable set himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court of Pakistan because he could not get justice in a case against him.

Further incidents of people committing suicides along with their families, including the children, are on the rise in the country as the economy continues to tank.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=1299

Posted by Ali Ahmed on Oct 25 2011. Filed under Latest News, National. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry