KARACHI: Expressing concern over the increasing number of suicide cases in Tharparkar, speakers at a seminar held on Friday at a local hotel underscored the need for immediate government intervention in the district which, they said, desperately needed experts to cater to mental health issues.

Titled `Increasing incidence of sui-cides in Thar`, the programme was organised by Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

It also marked the launch of the commission`s fifth annual report by SHRC chairman retired Justice Majida Rizvi alongside provincial Minister for Women Development Syeda Shehla Raza.

The report highlights the commission`s activities, its collective achievements and challenges.

Starting off the discussion, Justice Rizvi said that members of the commission visited Thar, the district considered to be the most vulnerable with respect to cases of suicide, in November last year to better understand the situation and met local people, including civil society activists, members of media and government officials of the district.

`The locals described poverty, cus-toms, marginalisation, social and class discrimination as major f actors contributing to increasing number of suicide cases in Thar. Some of them also believed that psychological issues are also the reason behind this phenomenon,` she said.

On the commission`s report, she said its responsibilities were increasing as awareness about human rights was growing among the masses day by day.

`Last year, the commission had held several public hearings in various districts of the province. It intervened in cases of labour and minority rights` violation, water and environment and issues related to education and sanitary workers,` she told the audience.

The commission also noted the impact of jirga system on human rights in Sindh and took action on 337 cases of human rights violations, she added.

Recalling her visit to Thar, MinisterShehla Raza said that she found out that it wasn`t only women who committed suicide, but some men also committed the act. `Poverty, child marriages and domestic violence in the district are pushing people to take this extreme step.

It was also pointe d out during the discussion that except the civil hospital, no psychiatrist was available at any other health f acility in the district.

Zulfiqar Shah, an SHRC member and joint director at Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research (Piler), was of the opinion that growing cases of suicide in the society was a multilayered subject, which needed a thorough investigation.

`People in Sindh, especially in Tharparkar district, have suffered immensely due to poor governance and increasing poverty. It is time for the state to take immediate practical stepsto ensure that their grievances are heard and their issues are resolved before the situation gets out of control, he said.

Karamat Ali, Piler executive director, underscored the need for bringing an improvement in the policing system which, he believed, was directly linked to people`s well-being.

`The commission for public safety and policing has a role to play in containing cases of suicide in the province and we are ready to lend support in this regard.

Anis Haroon, former member of the National Commission for Human Rights, spoke about the lack of proper health f acilities in Sindh and said every other person nowadays was suffering from psychological issues.

`We can see that there is an increase in both poverty and cases of suicide in society,` she remarked, regretting thatgrowing cases of suicide in Thar were alarming and they required immediate intervention at the government level.

Retired Justice Shahnawaz Tariq, the ombudsman of the Commission against Harassment at the Workplace, appreciated the increasing awareness on human rights and said the subject of workplace harassment was never earlier discussed in the country, but now this was happening and it had led to enactment of relevant laws in the country.

`Harassment often leads to cases of suicide, which need to be dealt in a proper manner. The culprit is always a man and the victim mostly belongs to the lower strata of society.

Dr Haroon Ahmed, representing the Pakistan Association of Mental Health, and Dr Azhar Mirza of Pakistan Medical Association also participated in the discussion.