27th December 2021
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Two sisters, one of them a widow with three children, have apparently committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills after a domestic quarrel in Gujranwala, police say quoting family sources.
S, aged 36 years, was living with her three children at her parent’s house in Lail Virkan area of Nosheher Virkan tehsil of the district, following the demise of her husband. Her other 22-year-old sister, F, had also shifted back to her parental home after her marriage with a vision-impaired man in Lahore ended in divorce within three months.
On December 24, the two sisters had a heated argument with each other as well with their brother over domestic issues, family sources said. Following the quarrel, both sisters consumed poisonous pills to end their lives. The family took them to a local hospital for treatment where doctors failed to revive the siblings.
A team from the Nosheher Virkan police station took custody of the dead bodies of the sisters after being alerted by a funeral announcement made from a village mosque. The dead bodies were shifted to the dead house in Nosheher Virkan tehsil hospital for autopsy.
Sajid Mahmood, station house officer of Nosheher Virkan police station, said the tragic incident involved the loss of two human lives. “Police will investigate the cause of death of the two women and any person found involved in the deaths would be brought to justice,” Mahmood said in a statement released to local reporters.
“At the moment we cannot say whether there was any foul play in the deaths of the sisters as police will receive the autopsy reports after two to three days,” Mahmood told Voicepk.net.
According to the Huma Rights Commission of Pakistan, 1,735 suicide deaths were reported across the country in 2020. Experts cite a lack of public awareness of mental illnesses and their treatment as a major factor in the increased number of suicides in the country.
