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District West SSP Faisal Bashir Memon said that a 40-year-old resident of Surjani Town gave a deadly drug to himself, his 35-year-old wife, and two newborn children aged four and two, respectively, at their home due to “frustration over inflation”. The two-year-old boy died.
Rescue crews then transported the family to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon in Karachi, claimed she received the body of a young baby girl with her father, mother, and sister in serious condition at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
“History suggests purposeful intake of ‘neela thora’ (copper sulphate) by the parents after providing the same to the children,” she tweeted. “Reason given as joblessness and unable to make ends meet”.
According to SSP Memon, the father was the family’s single breadwinner, living in a leased property and dealing with inflation and unemployment.
A similar heartbreaking tragedy occurred last month in Narowal, Punjab, when a labourer and two children committed suicide by jumping into a canal owing to poverty and inflation.
According to the victim’s neighbour, the deceased was a diligent man who had regular arguments in his house owing to money problems.
Earlier this month, a dad depressed by inflation and poverty committed suicide with his four-year-old daughter by plunging into the Abbasia canal near Head Panjnad in Muzaffargarh.
With weekly inflation above 40%, millions of Pakistanis’ purchasing power has been severely eroded, with many unable to meet even the most basic requirements.
The Consumer Price Index for February increased to 31.50 per cent, the highest level since June 1975. That was followed by a dramatic drop in the rupee’s value, as the government raised energy prices and taxes to satisfy the International Monetary Fund’s loan terms.
All of these causes have significantly contributed to Pakistan’s present record-high inflation.
