Tragic Decision: Elderly Woman Uses Treatment Funds to Pay Electricity Bill, Commits Suicide

A 65-year-old Pakistani woman, Razia Bibi, committed suicide after spending her treatment savings on an unexpected electricity bill. Despite her diligent efforts to save for her hernia surgery, the financial burden led to her tragic death. Meanwhile, political unrest grows over rising electricity costs and governmental policies.

A 65-year-old woman named Razia Bibi, suffering from a hernia, tragically committed suicide after using her treatment savings to pay an unexpected electricity bill, ARY News reported. Having carefully set aside funds for her operation, the sudden financial burden left her with no other option, resulting in a sequence of tragic events.

Razia Bibi had been diligently saving money for her hernia surgery. Faced with an unexpected electricity bill of PKR 10,000, she was forced to use her medical savings to pay the bill. According to ARY News, Razia's son stated that his mother, distressed by the financial setback, left to buy medicine but was overwhelmed by despair and jumped into a nearby drain, as confirmed by police officials.

"My mother was a hernia patient who had saved money for her operation, but after receiving the electric bill of Rs 10,000, she paid it with the money saved for her surgery and later committed suicide," said her son, Usman. Razia Bibi's daughter made an attempt to save her mother but was unsuccessful. Local authorities are currently conducting a search operation to recover Razia's body.

Footage of the events leading up to the tragedy has surfaced, while the Gujranwala Police have initiated an investigation. Meanwhile, Pakistan's right-wing party, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, issued a stern warning to the government. He threatened to expand their ongoing protest in Rawalpindi to other parts of the country if demands concerning rising electricity bills and taxes are not addressed, as reported by Dawn.

Reports indicate that the sit-in at Liaquat Bagh could intensify if the government fails to meet these demands. Rehman was quoted saying, "If the government is thinking that the sit-in would continue on Murree Road only, it is wishful thinking. If they do not reduce electricity bills in a genuine manner, do not address the matter of IPPs (independent power producers), and do not revoke the [tax] slab on the salaried class, then this sit-in would not remain limited to here; it would spread further to the entire country."

Rehman criticized the government's economic management, pointing out that even industrialists are struggling with electricity bills. "I met traders and industrialists here in the past week and they lamented, 'we are at our limits and cannot run our factories anymore,'" Rehman said, as reported by Dawn. He emphasized the broader economic impact, noting that the closure of a single factory results in thousands of job losses. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)