By our correspondent
KARACHI: Mental health professionals, policymakers and international experts have called for a shift towards compassionate, evidence-based suicide prevention in Pakistan, urging stronger legal protections, improved emergency response systems and a coordinated national public health strategy.
The call came during a Stakeholder Consultative Meeting on “Suicide Prevention Advocacy: Charting the Way Forward”, organized by the Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning (PILL) in collaboration with the University of Manchester and the Pakistan Psychological Association (PPA) in Karachi on Saturday.
The consultation brought together more than 100 participants from across Pakistan, alongside experts from the United Kingdom, Spain and Bangladesh, reflecting growing international collaboration on one of the country’s most pressing yet under-discussed public health challenges.
Among the keynote facilitators, Prof. Nusrat Husain, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester and Director of Research at the Global Mental Health Division, underscored the importance of treating suicide as a preventable public health issue rather than a matter of stigma or criminality.
He stressed that sustainable progress depends on evidence-based interventions, stronger community mental health services and partnerships between researchers, healthcare providers and policymakers.
Prof. Husain highlighted the need for early intervention, improved mental health literacy and support systems for vulnerable individuals, while advocating policies that place dignity, compassion and scientific evidence at the center of suicide prevention efforts.
The meeting was facilitated by Dr. Mowadat H. Rana, Prof. Rafia Rafique, Prof. Imran B. Chaudhry, Prof. Zainab Zadeh, Dr. Shaista Siddiqui and other leading mental health professionals.
Participants included parliamentarians, representatives of the Sindh Mental Health Authority, the Pakistan Mental Health Coalition, emergency response organizations, civil society groups and people with lived experience of mental health challenges.
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