Woman sets Two Sons on Fire in Pakistan

A woman reportedly set two of her sons on fire in Kot Asadullah, Lahore, Pakistan, on Monday, February 22, 2021, due to poverty.

Abdul Rehman and Faizan, aged three and four respectively, were found dead with burns on their bodies in the Manga Mandi area of the Kot Asadullah village.

The rescue emergency team had received a report of a fire incident.

The house that comprised of two rooms and a kitchen was left partially damaged due to the fire.

The rescue team reached the site and noted the smell of petrol. They informed the police of suspicious circumstances.

As a result, the police called in the parents of the deceased children for interrogation.

Tanzeela, the mother, initially gave conflicting statements regarding the incident that took place.

After she was questioned further, she finally revealed the truth.

She confessed that her husband was unable to provide for the family. As the basic needs were not being fulfilled, there was no food in the kitchen.

Her frustration and anger led to her strangling both her sons and then setting the place on fire.

She later gathered the neighbours and lied to them about the fire erupting in the house suddenly.

After the parents disclosed the truth, the police sent the bodies for a postmortem examination.

Poor households lack basic financial, physical and human capital, leading to negativity and heartless acts, including murder.

Covid-19 has led to drastic impacts especially amongst the poor.

A UNDP study of 70 countries, including Pakistan, showed due to Covid-19 poverty levels are expected to go down by nine years, leading to millions of people falling into multidimensional poverty.

Pakistan’s economy has been struggling since pre-Covid-19 times.

With the current situation in hand, it is estimated that 56.6% of the population is now socio-economically vulnerable.

It is predicted that only 2% growth is expected in poverty levels post the pandemic.

Such conditions are likely to increase unemployment rates, adding to the ongoing cycle of poverty.

While the government is playing its part by implementing programmes such as the Ehsaas Emergency Programme, Pakistan still has a long way to go.

The NSER survey is also being carried out by the current government in order to enable smart poverty targeting.

This will cover 27 million households and will be completed by 2021.

We can only hope that poverty levels improve so that hard-hearted incidents that occur due to poverty are eliminated.