SUICIDE, a complex symptom of deep despair triggered by mental health problems, is hardly a moral issue. Punitive action for those reeling under long, silent battles harms not just sufferers but entire communities. Yet death by suicide stands criminalised by the Federal Shariat Court. The 2022 legislation through which the act was removed as a crime from the Pakistan Penal Code, has been struck down. It is worth recalling that the restored Section 325 was repealed as part of wider reforms in criminal law so that self-harm is recognised as a mental health concern rather than an offence. Interestingly, the Council of Islamic........

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