HYDERABAD, July 25: Two brothers who along with other members of their family were forced to work on a kiln near Lahore, claimed on Tuesday that the kiln-owner had got their kidneys removed and sold them.

Shahzad and Ashiq, sons of Kevro Khan Oad, said their tormentors had threatened that their families would be eliminated if they disclosed the ‘facts’. They appealed to the government for justice and protection.

Talking to journalists here, the two said they belonged to Mirpurkhas and they and other members of their family used to work at a kiln owned by Haji Bahram Pathan.

Last year, they said, Haji Bahram and one Jaffar Khan sold the 11-member family to one Malik Abbas through Hayat Machi. Malik Abbas ran his kiln near Manga Talab stop in Lahore.

They said that Hayat Machi, Sarwar Shah, Ashiq Shah and Ayal Odh beat them after they reached the kiln and warned that if they tried to escape they would be killed. They said they worked for about 11 months at the kiln and were only given food.

They said one day Shahzad felt pain in his abdomen and he was taken to a hospital. He fell unconscious after he was administered an injection and when he regained consciousness he was informed that his kidney had been removed for which Rs1.14 million had been given to munhsi of the kiln-owner, Ashiq Shah. They said Shahzad was also informed that the kidney had been sold to an Arab national.

Soon Shahzad fled the place along with his wife and two sons. He arrived in Hyderabad and disclosed the incident to officials of an NGO, Green Rural Development.

Later, Ashiq Oad said, he was forcibly taken to hospital where his kidney was also removed. He said that after three days he was taken to the kiln to resume work but he was too weak to do the job.

The two brothers said that the NGO contacted All Pakistan Bhatta Mazdoor Union’s president Ghulam Fatima who filed a writ petition in Lahore. This led to a raid on the kiln and subsequent liberation of workers.

They said that Haji Bahram and his accomplices were threatening them that if they dared speak to the media all children in their family would be eliminated and they would be implicated in false cases.