WEB DESK: Following the alleged suicide of Islamabad Police officer SP Adeel Akbar, it appears that there was more to his ordeal than what met the eye. Renowned PIMS psychiatrist Dr Hafiz Sultan Muhammad took to his Facebook stating that a day before the incident, he had advised SP Adeel’s family to keep him away from weapons and sharp objects. Dr Muhammad has since then removed his post from social media.
SP Adeel Akbar allegedly committed suicide in his car near Serena Hotel on Thursday afternoon. Later, his funeral prayers were offered at Police Lines, and his body was sent with official honours to his native city, Gujranwala, where he was laid to rest. The speculation about SP Akbar’s death being a suicide or a murder remains and would be clarified as soon as investigations reach a conclusion.
Consultation with psychiatrist a day earlier
Serving as a psychiatrist at PIMS Hospital, Dr Muhammad wrote in a detailed social media post that SP Adeel Akbar had met him just the night before his death.
According to the doctor, he advised SP Adeel to get admitted immediately to the private ward of PIMS Hospital, as he was under severe mental stress.
However, Adeel Akbar refused, saying that he would overcome his depression on his own accord. The doctor wrote in his post: “I told his family to remove all weapons and sharp objects from his reach, but unfortunately fate had other plans, and less than 24 hours after our meeting, he took the extreme step.”
He further stated that Adeel Akbar’s spouse is also a doctor, and that he has a three-year-old daughter, whom he doted upon.
According to Dr Hafiz, Adeel Akbar had told him that he had passed the CSS examination twice and had secured a top position in his batch. His recent postings included Quetta, Turbat, and Kashmir. However, he told the psychiatrist that his depression was not related to these postings, rather, it was a state that was “beyond understanding or explanation.”
According to police, investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of SP Adeel Akbar’s death.
‘A capable officer’
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry had expressed grief over the incident, saying that a three-member committee comprising three DIGs has been formed to determine the cause of the incident. In a statement shared on its official Facebook page, Islamabad Police said that SP Adeel Akbar was a capable and respected officer of the Police Service of Pakistan who had recently joined as Superintendent of Police, Industrial Area.
SP Adeel had completed his MPhil in Governance and Public Policy from the National Defence University, Islamabad, and had recently received a Fulbright Scholarship for higher education in the United States.