While the op-ed on this subject published on September 10, 2021, made some legal points (covering a few social aspects along), this piece focuses on the provision of the attempt to suicide minutely.
Section 325 states, “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”
So, the provision not only provides grounds to punish a person making an attempt to take their own life, but also those doing any act towards the commission of the offence. This part of the law requires a closer look. Merriam-Webster defines “commission,” as [a] an authorisation or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts; [b] a task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another and [c] a fee paid to an agent or employee for transacting a piece of business or performing a service. Is this law serious? In common language, it posits that not only is any person attempting suicide punishable but whoever is deemed instrumental in helping the attempter commit this suicide. And how pray may that happen? By helping the attempter in the preparation of committing the act? Let’s dwell on this for a bit. Like choosing the colour of the shirt? Hmm…does a white-and-black polka dot shirt look more dashing than the turquoise-and-black striped one? Maybe, orange nylon would look hipper as a rope than the boring white?
There are punishments under law, but they always come with exceptions. These exceptions look at unusual situations that must be taken onboard for justice to be delivered.
While it is true that a suicide/attempted suicide is a negative act that affects the entire society negatively, a larger canvas is needed for its analysis.
Broadly speaking, Pakistani laws deal with punishing behavioural idiosyncrasies and acts pertaining to commission or omissions of both civil and criminal nature. In addition to sharia laws [personal laws], we have non-sharia laws. To quote some from the latter category, Article 19 (Freedom of Expression) offers that this freedom has a series of exceptions, for example, anything against the glory of Islam; anything against the integrity of Pakistan; anything that negatively affects relations between Pakistan and another friendly state; contempt of court {detailed in Article 204 with a list of its own exceptions}, so on and so forth, shall not be violated in the garb of freedom of expression. Likewise, the law of Defamation {Libel & Slander}. Again, a bunch of exceptions within. A third example is Article 62 and Article 63 of the Constitution. Who can or cannot run for Parliament? This was restructured by late General Zia. The point is, there are punishments under law, but they always come with exceptions. These exceptions look at unusual situations that must be taken onboard for justice to be delivered.
Moving to Sharia laws, let’s clear the deck on something very basic. In at least two specific places, the Holy Quran has forbidden suicide. Citations: (Quran Sura An-Nisa- 4:29-30) and (Quran Sura AI-Baqara-2:195). Adil Salahi, writing for Arab News, said:
“It is true that suicide is strictly forbidden, because it is an affront to God. It is like a person saying to God: ‘You have given me life and I am taking it away.’ This is what is meant by the sacred Hadith in which God is quoted as saying of the one who commits suicide: ‘My servant has precipitated My will with regard to himself! Therefore, I am forbidding him entry into heaven.'”
“But this Hadith applies to a person in full control of his faculties, suffering no overpowering adversity and having a reasonable life,” he continued, “If such a person commits suicide, then may be God will not allow him in heaven.”
However, talking about a person who committed suicide due to some mental disorder or not fully controlling his senses, he believed, “We cannot say how God will judge such a person, but we trust to God’s justice, because He does not deal unfairly with anyone. We pray for the person concerned, and request God to forgive him.”
Like non-Sharia laws, Sharia laws, too, carry exceptions within. PPC 300 states within:
“Whoever, to cause death or with the intention of causing bodily injury to a person, by doing an act which in the ordinary course of nature is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that his act is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death, causes the death of such person, is said to commit qatl-e-amd.”
However, in Section 306, the exception is created for payment of qisas in sub-clause (a) when an offender is minor or insane.
There can be a whole range of reasons that can lead to suicide. It can include substance misuse, mood disorders, access to firearms {making a snap decision totally implementable}, history of abuse creating trauma, extreme pain and history of suicide in the family. Pressures that lead to suicide in today’s world are harsher than a few decades ago. These range from loss of jobs to the inability to measure up to high standards of parents placing too much burden on the young people to excel to poverty and so forth. Each situation demands a different approach by the doctor to handle a suicide attempt.
There are two ways to deal with PPC 325. First, to create exceptions for those suffering from mental disorders. However, this exception in the backdrop of corruption will, in more cases than not, lead to the blackmail of the family of a person making an attempt on his life. The victim, yes, a victim it is of his particular medical circumstances, needs compassion and treatment, not penalisation. The second option is to strike down this law altogether. The UK, which originated this law, has now done away with it. Laws must change with the change of needs of man and society.
We must remember that people are not for the laws; laws are for the people.
The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at [email protected] and tweets @yasmeen_9