An unemployed and indebted man in Jhelum 'sold' his newborn son for Rs5,000, his wife alleged on Wednesday.

In a complaint made to the Jhelum District Police Officer (DPO) on Wednesday, a woman named Sana Zubair stated that she recently gave birth to a boy at a local hospital in Jhelum, following which her condition deteriorated and she was referred to a hospital in Rawalpindi.

She said that upon her return from Rawalpindi, her husband, Zubair Akhtar, told her that he had handed over the infant to his sister's landlord in return for Rs5,000.

When pressed to get the child back, the husband started quarreling before leaving the home, the wife stated.

The DPO directed the Civil Line police station's station house officer to take immediate action and recover the child.

Cases of jobless and poverty-stricken parents trying to 'sell' their children for money is not uncommon in Pakistan. While Pakistan's official unemployment rate is around six per cent, a private research firm in November 2017 reported that as much as 49pc employable people are out of jobs in the country.