Crime and Mental Health| Podcast with Prof Dr Ali Burhan Mustafa

In Pakistan, despite a population of over 230 million people and a budget of 24.4 billion USD allocated for health, a mere 3% of the entire budget is designated for healthcare, with no specific allocation for mental health and its associated disorders. Disturbingly, there are only 550 qualified psychiatrists in the country, and a significant number of them choose to leave due to better opportunities abroad. Notably, there is not a single recognized forensic psychiatrist in Pakistan, while many overseas Pakistanis serve as forensic psychiatrists in countries like Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. This situation becomes especially critical given the substantial burden of mental health issues in Pakistan, including high-profile cases like the Javed Iqbal Mughal case (2000), the Army Public School incident (2014), the Kasur Scam (2015), the Imran Ali case (2018), the Sohail Ayaz case (2020), the Zahir Jaffer case (2022), the Sara Inam case (2022), and numerous others. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in the Safia Bano Case (PLD 2021 488), acknowledged the gravity of mental health concerns by declaring schizophrenia as an illness. The court directed provincial governments to redefine mental health and establish medical boards comprising qualified forensic mental health professionals. Addressing this critical gap, Queen's University Canada, under the leadership of Dr. Tariq Mehmood Hassan, in collaboration with Prof. Mowadat Hussain Rana, Prof. Dr. Ali Burhan Mustafa, Prof. Dr. Ali Madeeh Hashmi, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, and The Justice Project Pakistan, has undertaken initiatives to advance forensic psychiatry in Pakistan. This collaborative effort aims to enhance the recognition and understanding of mental health issues within the country, particularly in the context of high-profile cases, such as those mentioned above. #mentalhealth #MentalHealth #PakistanHealthcare #ForensicPsychiatry #PublicHealth #BudgetAllocation #GlobalHealth #SupremeCourtPakistan #Schizophrenia #MedicalProfessionals #CollaborativeInitiative #InternationalPartnership #PublicAwareness #MentalHealthAdvocacy #HealthcareDisparities #OverseasProfessionals #JusticeSystem #QueenUniversityCanada #JusticeProjectPakistan #GlobalMentalHealth #QueensUniversityKingston #PunjabInstituteofMentalHealth #PIMH #KEMU #kingedwardmedicaluniversity #ProvidenceCareHospital #SaimaNiaz #ForensicMentalHealth