Daily Times

Sir: The French sociologist Emile Durkheim, who is famous for his study on suicide, stressed the importance of social concomitants, which serve to place any individual suicide in its proper aetiological setting.

We should not let this piece of advice leave our minds while witnessing young Pakistanis ending their lives with the electronic media cashing in on their sad end. As much as we like to vent our anger, we must not lose ourselves to the fact that millions of children are still vulnerable to all sorts of social perversions. The recent rise in the suicide rate among children and teenagers throughout Pakistan proves that no institution/system, whether family, education, or religion, can be singled out and held responsible for the gradual process of alienation that results in such unfortunate incidents.
The first step our government (federal and provincial) and NGOs should take is to ascertain the actual statistics about all forms of suicides in Pakistan.
Secondly, identify the effective causes behind increasing rates of suicide.
Through a nationwide campaign, parents, teachers and children must be trained to deal with the identified potential threats present in our society.
MUHAMMAD SARMAD HAFEEZ
Abbottabad