In an act that brings William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" to mind, a Pakistani couple has committed suicide after their parents rejected their relationship and barred them from marrying.
The couple – identified by authorities only as Adnan and Muqaddas – were reportedly found in critical condition after they ingested poison at a home in Pakistan's Faisalabad district on Sunday. They were taken to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead on arrival, according to VICE.
The incident happened just before Muqaddas' reported wedding to another man, a suitor her parents personally selected after rebuffing the doomed couple's request to marry.
Arranged marriages are a common practice in Pakistan.
English actress Mrs Patrick Campbell (1865-1940) as Juliet being mourned by Johnston Forbes-Robertson (1853-1937) as Romeo, in a production of Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet" at the Lyceum, London.Getty Images
Similar cases to this happened in two other Pakistani cities in 2016 and 2017: One couple ingested poison after their parents prevented their union, while the second couple jumped in front of a moving train.
A 2019 Gallup poll showed 85% of respondents said they met their spouse through parents or close relatives.
“Marriages should require emotional compatibility, which is a very basic thing that is everyone's right," Islamabad-based psychiatrist Abdul Wahab Yousafzai told VICE. "The couple should first and foremost like each other. You will prominently find that marriage in our society is itself a risk factor for poor mental health."
Suicide is listed as criminal offence under the Pakistan Penal Code.
