SRINAGAR: Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Monday expressed concern over the reported increase in incidents of suicide and suspected suicides in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the government to initiate a coordinated response involving mental health professionals and other stakeholders.
In a post on X, Bukhari said the frequency of such incidents could no longer be viewed as isolated tragedies and called for a deeper examination of the social, economic and psychological factors that may be contributing to them.
He said reports of suicides, suspected suicides and mysterious deaths were being received from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir and stressed the need to understand the circumstances leading to such incidents.
Bukhari attributed the trend to a range of challenges that, according to him, include unemployment, poverty, inflation, drug abuse, social injustice and uncertainty about the future, particularly among young people.
Calling for a collective approach, he urged the government to bring together mental health professionals, sociologists, educators, civil society organisations, religious and community leaders, youth representatives and other stakeholders to identify the underlying causes and formulate a comprehensive response.
He said the issue should be addressed beyond political considerations and called for sustained efforts to tackle what he described as a growing crisis.