The Federal Shariat Court has issued a verdict regarding suicide laws, declaring suicide and attempted suicide a criminal offense once again, nullifying the government’s 2022 legislation.
The reserved judgment was announced by a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, Justice Muhammad Anwar Iqbal, and Justice Amir Khan.
The court declared the government’s 2022 legislation un-Islamic and nullified the amendments made under the law. The petitions filed against the 2022 Act were accepted.
Under the 2022 legislation, the provision criminalizing attempted suicide had been removed. However, the Federal Shariat Court has now restored the section of the Pakistan Penal Code that had previously been deleted through the amendment.
The ruling effectively reinstates legal provisions under which attempted suicide can once again be treated as a punishable offense under Pakistani law.
