Federal Shariat Court Strikes Down Law Decriminalising Suicide Attempts
The Federal Shariat Court has struck down 2022 legislation that had decriminalised suicide attempts in Pakistan, reinstating criminal liability for individuals who attempt to end their own lives. The ruling marks a significant reversal of a reform that mental health advocates had welcomed as a step toward compassionate treatment of vulnerable persons.
The 2022 amendment had removed suicide attempts from the list of criminal offences under Pakistani law, aligning the country with a broader global trend toward treating suicidal behaviour as a public health issue rather than a criminal one. Mental health professionals had argued that criminalisation deterred individuals from seeking help.
The Federal Shariat Court's judgment appears grounded in an interpretation of Islamic law, with the court finding the decriminalisation provision to be repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The ruling reactivates provisions under the Pakistan Penal Code that make surviving a suicide attempt a punishable offence.
The decision is likely to draw strong criticism from psychiatrists, human rights organisations, and legal reformers who had lobbied for the original change. It also raises questions about the interplay between constitutional reform and sharia-based judicial review in Pakistan's legal architecture.
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