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Only in films are such scenes seen. In the midst of a crowded 2, a political activist suddenly pulls out a pistol and shoots himself dead. The stunned audience is left in a state of shock, and then horror. In the aftermath, there remains only a sense of disbelief.

Lala Jahangir Khan, a well known political worker of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from Shikarpur, Pakistan, who brought his life to an end so dramatically, was only 35 years old. His action was intended to send out a message: a message he clearly delivered in the brief talk which preceded his suicide. He spoke poignantly of the financial hardship he and his family faced, of the virtual impossibility of survival and of his fears for the future of his son and three daughters.

Jahangir, crippled as a result of the loss of both legs in 1986 during agitation against the military regime, was also unsparing of the political leadership of the party to whom he owed his allegiance for much of his adult life. He said workers had frequently been let down by leaders whose promises were not translated into deeds; that often workers at the forefront of struggles found they had been used only to serve individual, not public, interest. He also appealed to opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to take care of his children.

In his brief criticism of the PPP, Jahangir was speaking for many workers and the public. Thousands like him cling on to the party in the hope that despite the past acts of omission and commission by their leaders, in spite of the many times they have been let down, those who head the party will finally deliver what they have pledged; will pay some attention to the state of the poverty-stricken workers who have repeatedly proved their willingness to put their lives at risk for the party's cause.

Just as importantly, this latest, and perhaps most dramatic, of suicides motivated by dire financial straits must be noted by the government. Today's leaders must act to ease the misery of the people, rather than insisting there is no cause for concern.

Indeed, it is already a tragedy that it takes actions such as Jahangir's to bring the depth of the people's dismay to public notice. The duty of leaders then is to find ways to address these very real problems, to find ways to end the daily torture suffered by millions rather than resorting only to oft-heard rhetoric regarding grand schemes which have in the past consistently failed to materialise.

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