reuters:

For some Pakistanis, suicide the only way to escape poverty

In the ten months to October of 2011, about 1,600 people decided that suicide was the only option, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The previous year 2,399 people killed themselves and poverty was a significant factor, but a precise breakup was not available, the commission said.

Growing economic pressures could push the suicide figure even higher in the South Asian nation where over one in five people live below the international poverty line of $1 a day.

Critics say alleviating poverty has never been a priority. In the 2011-12 budget, Pakistan’s government allocated 0.04 percent of spending for social protection schemes. By comparison, just over 17.8 percent went to defense, though some experts put the figure at 26 percent.

Read more of this report filed by Rebecca Conway and Imtiaz Shah