ISLAMABAD: A man who sold a part of his liver a year ago now fears for his life, saying he was receiving threats for demanding the amount from the agents.

Waqar Khan, a resident of Tench Bhatta in Rawalpindi, said he along with two agents was arrested by the Aabpara police in December 2014 but released within an hour.

He told Dawn: “I neither visited any passport office nor an embassy but got a passport along with a visa to travel to India.” Khan added that he was jobless and met a man - Majid - who was working at a CNG station in December 2014. Majid assured him that he would arrange a job for him.

During a few meetings, Majid told Khan that he along with some other people arranged liver donors for patients who required transplantation. He was told that he along with a patient would be taken to India and that all the expenses would be borne by the patient.

Besides, Majid told him that he would be paid Rs800,000. “When I was looking for a job, my mother fell ill,” he stated.

Left with no other option, Khan approached Majid and offered to sell a part of his liver. In response, Majid introduced Khan to Saqib and Ismail who took him to a laboratory and a hospital for medical tests.

“While returning from the hospital, some policemen intercepted us and took us to the Aabpara police station,” he said. At the police station, it was revealed that a case had been registered against Majid, Saqib and Ismail on the charge of taking a ‘donor’ to India for a liver transplant.

“After questioning us separately, the police kept us in a room for about an hour,” Khan said, adding later a man carrying a packet entered the room. Shortly afterward, some policemen also came in and the packet was handed over to them.

“The packet contained Rs300,000 and was given to the policemen for our release,” he alleged.

“Later, I was asked to go to Lahore and meet a patient, Samiullah, at a pharmacy in Model Town.” He said upon arrival in Lahore, Samiullah and his son, Noman, took him to a hotel where he stayed for two days.

“On January 27, 2015, I was taken to the Wagah Border by Samiullah and his son. Samiullah also handed me a passport and said it was my travel document.”

He said he was surprised to have the passport because neither he had visited any passport office nor any embassy to get a visa. He said at the immigration he told the officials that Samiullah was his uncle and he was traveling with him to India for a liver transplant.

“From Wagah Border, we reached Noida the same day where a man - Ram Jee - received us and took us to a hotel in a Surf,” he said, adding later “we were taken to a hospital in New Delhi where medical tests were conducted before an operation during which a piece of his liver was retrieved.

“I was kept in the hospital for 10 days and after being discharged we returned to Noida and stayed there for two more days. After reaching Pakistan, I asked Majid, Saqib and Ismail to pay me the amount but they started making excuses and then threatened me to frame me in a fake case for making a forged passport.” He said the police were also hands in glove with the accused.

In a handout on February 26, the ministry of interior said during a crackdown 110 touts were arrested from passport offices across the country.

Officials in the passport offices, Nadra, excise and taxation office and police, when contacted, said forged documents were also made with the help of touts.

The patient, Samiullah, and his son could not be contacted for comments. But his elder son, Dr Tasneem, confirmed to Dawn that his father had travelled to India for a liver transplant.

“We paid Rs6 million to the hospital while Rs1 million were spent on travel,” he said. In reply to a question, he first accepted that agents were involved but later denied and said he visited the Indian high commissioner for the visas.

In reply to another question, he said there was no agent involved and the donor was his cousin, Mohammad Riaz. Despite repeated attempts, Majid and Ismail could not be contacted for comments.

An official of the Aabpara police said a case was registered against the accused on November 17, 2014, on the complaint of Jehanzeb, a native of Mansehra. The complainant was taken to India from Islamabad for the donation of his liver in connivance with his relatives. He said the first investigation officer of the case was untraceable.

The second IO, Sub-Inspector Chaudhry Akbar told Dawn that he had arrested the accused nominated in the FIR.

“Later, it was brought to my knowledge that the case was settled between the accused and the complainant as they were relatives,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2016