A video of a dead body hanging from the pedestrian bridge at Express Highway has gone viral on social media.
Update: Islamabad police on Monday declared that the man who hung himself from the bridge was “mentally ill’.
The details as per police investigation reveal that the full name of the 30-year-old deceased is Umar Shaham, son of Umar Bahadur. Further investigation is being carried out with the help of the family, reports Geo.
“A dead body hanging from a bridge, in an incident that seems to be suicide, was discovered within the Aabpara Police Station’s jurisdiction […] and the deceased has been shifted to the PIMS hospital,” read the investigation officer’s (IO) report.
Previously, a social media account named Islamabad Updates shared the disturbing video on X (formerly Twitter) earlier today. As per ARY News, the body kept hanging for several hours as it was not visible in the dense fog in Islamabad.
The police has confirmed that they found the body of a young man identified as Umar, a resident of Mardan’s Katlang area. He is presumed to be 30 years old. Initial reports said that the young man had committed suicide, while an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Police officials stated that the family of the deceased man has not been found even after several hours had passed.
Pakistani-British rail worker Rizwan Javed, who has saved 29 people from taking their own lives since 2015, has been appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), Geo’s Murtaza Ali Shah reported.
Rizwan Javed, from Leyton in East London, works for the MTR Elizabeth line at Ealing Broadway and Paddington stations. He joined the railway around 10 years ago and at the start of his career, he attended the Samaritans training course.
Talking to the Geo News, Rizwan said, “I am thankful to Allah for this honour. It’s all due to the prayers of my parents that I have been recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours List. It’s a huge honour for me that my work in the mental health area has been recognised this way.”
He has been instrumental in saving several lives at the platform during the course of his work by being alert and approaching vulnerable individuals in weak moments.
He gave credit to his training at Samaritans, “With the Samaritans, I learned how to identify vulnerable people, what sort of conversations to have with them, how to engage them, how to look out, and how to take them to the point of safety.”
Within the first week after starting his railway job, Javed helped stop someone from taking their own life.
Recalling an incident Rizwan shared that in one instance he talked to a girl in her mid-20s after identifying that she needed help. “A few days later, she came running to me at the station and gave me a big hug. She said she wouldn’t be alive today if I had not talked to her that night and if I had not convinced her that life was worth living. That was very emotional and rewarding.”
He said people are not educated about mental health issues and these things create an impact.
He told Geo News that he believes that Allah will always reward him for helping others and being there for those who have no one else to talk to them or undergoing. He credited his Pakistani parents for teaching him from a young age the importance of being helpful and charitable.
He said: “My parents always taught me how to be a good and useful citizen, how to make a positive difference.”
Javed and his parents were thrilled when they received the government letter telling him he was being appointed MBE for his services.
MBE is the third highest ranking Order of the British Empire level (excluding a knighthood/damehood), behind Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and then Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE).
In a courtroom drama unfolding on Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A. Uzcategui deferred a ruling on the immediate establishment of a conservatorship for Elijah Blue Allman, son of iconic singer and actor Cher.
The court is set to revisit the contentious issue on January 29, as attorneys representing both parties continue to spar over the necessity and urgency of the conservatorship.
Cher, a recipient of Oscars and Grammys, filed a petition last week, seeking control over the finances of her 47-year-old son, Elijah Blue Allman. The legal move comes as Cher expressed concerns about Allman’s struggles with addiction and mental health, asserting that his inability to manage his finances could potentially jeopardise his life.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Uzcategui determined that Cher’s legal team had failed to provide Allman and his lawyers with the requisite documents, impeding their ability to present a comprehensive case. Consequently, she postponed a decision, setting the stage for a follow-up hearing later this month.
Cher’s attorney, Gabrielle Vidal, emphasized the urgency of the conservatorship, highlighting a pending payment from a trust established by Allman’s late father, musician Gregg Allman. Vidal argued that the immediate establishment of the conservatorship was critical, describing it as a “life-and-death proposition.” However, Uzcategui remained unconvinced.
The judge pointed to Cher’s legal team’s reluctance to share information directly with Allman’s attorneys, citing confidentiality concerns. Cher’s lawyers defended their decision, stating that they had shared the documents with Allman’s court-appointed lawyer instead.
In a court filing preceding the hearing, Allman acknowledged his struggles with addiction and irresponsible spending but asserted that a conservatorship was unnecessary. He revealed that he is under the care of a doctor, has been sober for over three months, attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and is willing to undergo regular drug tests.
In the filing, Allman expressed gratitude for his mother’s love and support but made it clear that he does not require her “unsolicited help or support” at this time. Allman was present in court on Friday but offered only brief responses to the judge’s inquiries. His legal team opted not to comment after the hearing.
Cher did not attend the hearing, and her attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As the legal battle unfolds, the fate of the conservatorship hangs in the balance, with both sides set to present their cases in the coming weeks.
Muhammad Bilal Pasha came under the spotlight as a candidate who cleared CSS examination, securing 85th position in the prestigious test having come from a humble background. In an old video that emerged after the result, he was seen standing next to his father against the backdrop of a brick wall, advocating about keeping the field open for those who work hard for it. He credited his father for his hard work.
He then got interviewed by TV Channels to share his struggle of being a son of a mason, yet reaching for the stars.
I still remember the day when he passed his CSS, he were called on the morning show at “Hum News “and I was having breakfast at that time and Bilal’s story was heart touching, a boy that came from lower middle class family. I don’t know where Bilal was posted 1/2#BilalPashapic.twitter.com/8MioaNifeJ
On November 27, the sad news of his demise surfaced online. #BilalPasha is trending on Twitter since the news broke out. He allegedly committed suicide.
Bilal was serving as a Chief Executive Officer in the Bannu Cantonment Board. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Cantt Azmat Khan, Pasha was suffering from mental stress for several days which led to the suicide.
The police said that they found Pasha’s body covered in blood inside his residence where he shot himself. They added that his body has been moved to the District Headquarters Hospital, Bannu, reports Geo.
According to a media report, the police have launched an inquiry into the incident to find out whether Pasha committed suicide or was murdered. They also said that he had a bullet wound in his head.
His funeral prayers were offered in his home district of Khanewal. His father talked to BBC, stating that the last conversation he had with his son was on Saturday in which he told him that he is getting a transfer.
The old man who worked hard to raise his son was crying at the loss. Ahmed Yar told BBC that a week ago his son was telling him about the tiresome job and that he want to either quit or get time off so that he could just sleep and unwind.
Bilal’s father talked about how he was not able to reach him after the last call and that his friend broke the news to him.
Bilal separated from his wife a few months into the marriage about two to three years ago.
He pledged to be a guiding light for those who can not afford to join big academies for CSS preparation in his initial viral video and fulfilled the promise by becoming a mentor for many.
His unfortunate death has diverted people’s attention towards the importance of mental health.
Senior CSP Hamza Shafqaat tweeted about all those who have committed suicide in past years stressing how they are not mere numbers but people dealing with mental health issues.
Following CSS officers committed suicide in last few years .. 2 PAS , 2 PSP , 2 Audit and 1 MLCG. These are not mere numbers; they are not just a few faces #MentalHealthMatters#CSSpic.twitter.com/J0GksR1XQg
Many of his seniors and other colleagues are expressing grief in social media messages. Zoha Malik Sher wrote, “The passing of our colleague, Bilal Pasha, is a moment of grief, not a topic for discussion.”
In this difficult time, let’s prioritize empathy. The passing of our colleague, Bilal Pasha, is a moment of grief, not a topic for discussion. May Allah grant peace to the departed soul, strength to his family, and may we collectively honour his memory with sensitivity
“Politically incorrect, but amusingly ironic is the fact that many of the civil servants putting up hefty, poignant statuses/tweets about this would be really small people in their own offices, doing their best to make it a toxic environment for those working under them.”
They will copy-paste beautiful sentiments about mental health because it is apparently the correct thing to do, without ever stopping to think how their own demeanour and conduct is absolutely vitriolic for those around them. There is no introspection. https://t.co/nyvPBHqHjn
Another officer of 46th Common, Mirza Bilal Hassan tweeted, “I have never met Bilal Pasha and i can never feel the agony he went through. Civil service is rotten to its core and is frequently killing people. It is high time for the young civil servants to speak up and alter the old, rotten, corrupt, and inhumane values of civil service OR WAIT FOR THE NEXT/YOURS DEATH.”
For a person who is Fair , Just, intelligent, and Compassionate, civil service and our society are death beds. Its a Murder by Depression. Depression shoved down his throat by seniors, horrible working culture, continuous helplessness to do right, family and friends, and a mental… pic.twitter.com/mR0m9fTC5i
Bilal’s father and brother have been interviewed by different media outlets where they denied any knowledge of him being depressed. The two have also narrates stories of his hard work and commitment to the job while maintaining humility.
Bilal’s father clearly told Urdu Point that there was no work-related pressure on his son.
Bilal’s eldest brother talked about his last conversation with his sibling and said that he inquired about his son’s studies with Bilal and the latter told him that he is doing fine and will become a CSP in the future.
Many of Pasha’s students are demanding an investigation into his death, expressing dissatisfaction over the declaration of his demise as a suicide. To them, he was a happy-go-lucky person, patriotic and optimistic. There are an ample number of tweets with #JusticeforBilalPasha.
#JusticeForBilalPasha The authorities must thoroughly investigate the incident of his death so as to save the other civil servants and those having so much fame like Mr. Pasha from such a painful end. pic.twitter.com/VlXQKjItew
We demand an immidiate impartial judicial inquiry into this tragic inicident as we have seen biased behavior of @KP_Police1 So an independednt judicial investigation team must be comprised to probe into it and bring out the complete truth and #JusticeForBilalPasha
World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the formation of a ‘Commission on Social Connection’ to address loneliness as an impending threat to mental health around the world. This commission will comprise 11 members from around the world.
The commission intends to boost social connection as a priority and promote solutions for the unique health threat.
Senior Pakistani Advocate and Human Rights Defender Hina Jillani has also been nominated as one of the 11 commissioners from across the globe. She will participate in the first leadership-level meeting on December 6-8, to be held at the WHO secretariat. The meeting is aimed at forming a flagship report released by the mid-point of the three-year initiative.
Speaking to Dawn, Ms Jillani said, “It has been observed that people, families, and even communities are being isolated because of social media networks. Physical interaction has been reducing day by day. There is a need to find a solution to the issue. In countries like Pakistan, there is an issue that the younger people are migrating to the developed countries due to which their parents will be left alone and will face a severe kind of isolation.”
One in four older people experience social isolation and the rates are broadly similar in all regions. Among adolescents, between 5–15 per cent experience loneliness, according to research findings.
The rest of the 11 commissioners also include Japan’s loneliness minister Ayuko Kato, Minister of Health and Social Protection in Morocco Khalid Ait Taleb, Sweden’s Minister for Health and Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed, Chile’s Minister of Health Ximena Aguilera Sanhueza, Permanent Representative to the UN from Kenya Cleopa Mailu, Minister of Climate Change Vanuatu Ralph Regenvanu, Deaf-Blind Advocate and Activist of United States Haben Girma and United States Google Chief Health Officer Karen Desalvo.
This commission will find a new agenda on social connections, raising awareness, and building collaborations that will drive evidence-based solutions for countries, communities and individuals.
The caretaker setup in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led by Chief Minister Azam Khan inaugurated the first-ever Institute of Mental Health Sciences in the provincial capital Peshawar on Thursday.
The landmark project has incurred a total cost of Rs2.52 billion. The larger plan includes an emergency unit, OPD, ICU, a psychiatric unit, family counseling, and a rehabilitation centre among other facilities. It will start with providing OPD services and will move on to add other services in later stages.
Landmark Achievement by the KP Government: The caretaker Chief Minister, Muhammad Azam Khan, inaugurated the “Institute of Mental Health Sciences, Peshawar.” This groundbreaking institution, the first of its kind in the region, aims to revolutionize mental health education,… pic.twitter.com/4vfD7CVuqQ
In the inaugural ceremony, the Chief Minister spoke about the facilities offered by the institute and the courses on various areas concerning mental health offered there. He emphasised the growing need for understanding and treating mental illnesses that are rampant globally and the opening of one of its kind institute is a step in the right direction. He promised that the state-of-the-art institute will provide facilities for the treatment of mental illnesses and all services related to mental health.
A man from Saudabad, Karachi has been arrested for killing his eight-year-old son. The father, Amir, has confessed in front of the police that he was enraged as the boy refused to call him “papa”.
Amaan’s body was found in Bhains Colony a few days after the father’s complaint of the boy being lost. However, the investigation revealed that the boy was tortured, killed, and dumped by his own father.
Amaan had come to visit his biological father, as he stayed with his adoptive parents. He was adopted by Amir’s friend and had come to meet his mother, a few days before his death. Amir forced the child to call him ‘papa’, to which the child refused.
In a fit of rage, Amir then assaulted the child, killing him.
After the tragic news of Maulana Tariq Jameel’s son passing away in what is being said was suicide, celebrities are urging their followers to recognise the importance of taking care of their mental health. Asim Jameel, the younger son of the Maulana, passed away after shooting himself with a gun at his ancestral home in Tulamba.
Social media was left heart broken after Yousef Jamil confirmed to the press that his brother Asim had passed away from suicide. Now more public figures like Zara Noor Abbas want people to understand that depression should be recognised as an illness.
“For all those who say that depression happens because of deen say duri, please take the example of Maulana Tariq Sahab’s son who was suffering from it even though he had a house full of religious activities and his father being such an honoured religious scholar,” the actress penned.
“Please understand that depression is real like any other illness,” Zara stressed to her followers. “It sucks everything out of you. Please seek help and support for it. My heart goes out to the family of the deceased. May Allah grant him Jannah and peace after all.”
Actress and VJ Anoushay Ashraf slammed the common assumption that depression happens when people are away from God, and spoke about how it should be recognised as a medical issue.
“I hope those celebs who unknowingly but hurt fully speak about how depression is being away from Allah (SWT) realise that it’s very much a medical issue. Many troubles and issues in life can perhaps be because of your disconnect with the higher being, I get your viewpoint but depression is a ‘real’ sickness and disease. It’s not being away from God, it’s being ill. Very ill in such cases.”
The recent tragic incident involving the son of a prominent religious scholar, Maulana Tariq Jamil, has once again brought the discussion of mental health to the forefront.
The heartbreaking revelation that Asim Jamil, son of Maulana Tariq Jamil, couldn’t survive due to severe depression and eventually took his own life, highlights the urgent need to address the often-neglected intersection between religion and mental health.
According to the elder son of Maulana Tariq Jamil, Yousaf Jamil, Asim had been grappling with severe depression since childhood. Despite undergoing treatment, including Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), his mental illness only deepened in the last six months.
As evidenced by Asim’s case, where even Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) proved ineffective, the necessity of professional medical intervention in severe cases of mental illness cannot be overstated.
Despite the claims of certain public figures such as Resham, who said that depression “does not exist” and Feroz Khan, who while responding to a fan’s question regarding curing depression among 21-25 years old girls said: “Obey your men. Give them your responsibility and sit back and enjoy grapes. I’d do that if I was a woman. Be a queen,” it is important to recognise the limitations of this approach.
It is pertinent to mention that the suicide rate in Pakistan has alarmingly crossed eight per cent (per 100,000 people), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and this can significantly be associated with mental health problems.
According to WHO, there are only 0.19 psychiatrists in Pakistan per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest numbers in the WHO-EMRO region as well as the entire world. The absence of trained mental health professionals in the country has created a major treatment gap, leaving more than 90 per cent with mental health issues untreated.
Unfortunately, we, as a cultural collective, only end up making fun of people with mental health issues, sweep it under the carpet or pretend as if mental health is not an issue at all. We forget that globally, one in eight people have mental health conditions. We forget that being insensitive to mental health issues only increases the pain and agony of those who are facing these issues.
In a country where we think a mentally troubled young man’s illness will be cured if he gets married, where we think talking about mental illness or seeking therapy or psychiatric treatment means you’re either not ‘man enough’, ‘weak’ or ‘mental’, we must raise awareness about mental health and how medical science can help resolve these issues.
The unfortunate incident involving Asim Jamil highlights the urgency of destigmatising conversations surrounding mental health. It is imperative to foster an environment where individuals feel comfortable discussing their struggles openly without fear of judgement or discrimination.
40 US states sued Meta — the owner company of Facebook and Instagram.
The renowned tech company has been accused to have caused mental health crises in youth. The attorneys general said that these social media apps tend to “exploit and manipulate” children.
The case highlights dangers of social media platforms stemming from their focus on financial gain. The young users are exploited using a business model to get them addicted to spending too much time on social media, which can consequently harm their mental health.
According to the complaint, various researches show that youth using Meta’s social media platforms undergo depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other mental health related issues .
The complaint was made in 2021 after Meta’s own research showed the company was aware of the harm Instagram was causing to young people, especially girls.
These states have requested the court to impose heavy fines on Meta and order them to pay compensation.
