OUR CORRESPONDENT
ISLAMABAD: A symposium was held at Shifa College of Medicine Islamabad in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning (PILL) and the Department of Clinical Psychology, Shifa Tameer–e-Millat University. The main purpose of the event was to raise awareness about suicide and to present national, and international facts and figures on suicide and remedial measures to the participants. Prof. Dr. Nasim Chaudhry (CEO PILL,) while expressing her thoughts on the occasion stated that medical and mental health experts need to take steps to understand and prevent the problems of people with suicidal thoughts. Present at the event, Prof. Dr. Fareed Minhas remarked that even after seven decades, Pakistan does not have a mental health policy and due to the legal quagmire, access to real facts is becoming a hurdle. Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan stated that suicide is forbidden in Islam and it can be reduced by adopting Islamic teachings, but people do not report the actual figures of suicide due to religious and social stigma in our society. Among the other speakers of the event were Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Khalily, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Dr. Abdul Sattar, Director, Emergency Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, and Ms. Amna Noureen, Clinical Psychologist, PILL Operational Manager (Rawalpindi). The event was organized by Dr. Waqas Rabbani, Assistant Professor, Shifa College of Medicine, Prof. Dr. Fouzia Sadiq, Director of Research, Shifa College of Medicine and the team of Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Rawalpindi. Apart from faculty members, students from various fields also participated