KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A young man died by suicide in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province due to economic hardship, a local Taliban authorities said on Friday, marking the latest reported case involving a young person in the country.
Sayed Tayeb Hamad, spokesperson for the Taliban security command in Nangarhar, said the incident took place in the Pirzo area of Kama district. He did not provide the man’s age or identity.
According to Hamad, the young man had been asking his family for money to migrate abroad. When they refused, he became violent toward them, developed depression, and later ended his life.
The case is the latest in a series of reported suicides among young people across Afghanistan. Earlier this week, a young midwife in southern Helmand province died after taking poisonous pills following her dismissal from a local hospital, local sources said.
Local sources, rights groups and activists have linked most of the reported suicides in Afghanistan to economic hardship, unemployment, domestic violence, forced marriages and mental health difficulties.
Afghanistan has faced severe economic and humanitarian pressures since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The United Nations estimates that nearly 22 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2026.
Young people have been particularly affected by the economic hardship, high unemployment and Taliban restrictions on public life, which have made daily life increasingly difficult. Depression and other mental health challenges are reported to be rising among them, with some cases resulting in self-harm, including suicide.
