PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday ordered the provincial health department, KP Health Care Commission and Federal Investigation Agency to produce comprehensive reports about their measures to check illegal human organ trade, especially for kidney transplantation.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan expressed concern about the illegal organ trade activities being carried out in private health facilities observing that several of those centres had virtually become butcheries.

The bench observed that it won’t let anyone play with public life.

Observes operators of illegal health facilities deserve exemplary punishment

It added that only the sealing of private clinics and operation theatres would not serve the purpose unless exemplary punishments were handed down to their operators.

The bench issued the order during the hearing into a petition filed by a Kohat resident, Mohammadullah Khan, against the alleged illegal transplantation of kidney to his uncle, Haji Habib Khan, by a group, including some doctors, on the payment of Rs2.55 million.

The patient had died within two days of undergoing the surgery.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the FIA and HCC to take legal action against all the culpable people and conduct a high-level inquiry against all those involved in the illegal organ trade.

The bench fixed Dec 20 for the next hearing into the petition directing the respondents, including FIA and HCC, to submit their respective reports explaining in detail the actions taken by them against the individuals and groups dealing in illegal human organ trade.

HCC chief executive officer Azar Sardar produced a report saying along with the FIA, the commission had sealed 32 operation theatres in the current month.

He added that during a crackdown on quackery, the HCC sealed more than 2,000 clinics in the last 10 months over illegal and unauthorised practices.

Mr Sardar said the registration of Al-Karim Medical Centre, which was allegedly involved in illegal kidney transplantation of the petitioner’s uncle, had expired in Dec 2017.

He added that the HCC’s field staff visited the premises several times for inspection but always found it closed.

The HCC CEO said 20 complaints had so far been sent to the police against such centres, and five FIRs had been registered against illegal de-sealing of health care facilities.

A deputy director of the FIA told the court that the agency take action whenever it received any clue about such cases.

He said two of the people accused by the petitioner of illegal activity had been arrested, while search for others was under way.

The bench observed that the FIA and other health related institutions should not turn a blind eye to illegal organ trade.

Additional advocate general Sikandar Shah said the KP government had been paying special attention to health sector and had been introducing several reforms in it.

Malik Ajmal Khan, lawyer for the petitioner, said Haji Habib Khan, a transport businessman based in Abu Dhabi, had returned after falling ill and a leading hospital of Islamabad had prescribed him kidney transplantation.

He said Dr Nizakat, the head of privately-owned Maryam Hospital, Islamabad, had promised the patient and the petitioner that he would arrange a kidney from a donor for Rs2.5 million.

The lawyer said the doctor arranged a meeting of the petitioner and other relatives with Amin Sheikh, who referred them to Dr Mohammad Ishfaq.

He claimed that the money meant for the kidney donor was received in different installments by Dr Nizakat, Dr Ishfaq and Amin Sheikh, while Haji Habib was operated upon in Peshawar and was shifted to Rawalpindi in precarious condition before passing away.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018