Punishment or Protection? A Critical Legal Analysis of the Federal Shariat Court’s Re-Criminalisation of Attempted Suicide Under Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code

<jats:p>On 18 May 2026 the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan restored Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, declaring the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2022 repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. This decision reversed a watershed mental health reform celebrated by public health professionals and legal scholars alike. This article undertakes a critical qualitative analysis of the judgment across five analytical lenses: constitutional law, Islamic jurisprudence, public health, criminal law theory and comparative law. It argues that the re-imposition of criminal liability on suicide survivors constitutes a disproportionate, counterproductive and constitutionally suspect response that fails to discharge the state's own declared objective of protecting human life. Drawing on secondary sources including case law, legislative instruments, WHO evidence, classical Islamic scholarship and comparative jurisdictions, the article concludes that a rehabilitative legal framework grounded in compulsory therapeutic intervention offers a more just, more effective and more constitutionally coherent alternative. The abetment lacuna identified by the Court, while legitimate, does not require the criminalisation of the survivor and can be resolved through targeted legislative reform.</jats:p>