ANI (15 June 2007)

Karachi, June 15 : A pregnant woman in Pakistan, unable to cope with the daily struggle to feed her family, is willing to sell her expected child for Rs 300,000.

A resident of Karachi's former Central district, the woman in her late 40s said her family's economic woes could be addressed from the amount she is hoping to get in return for the child.

"I have to arrange the marriage of my daughter, whereas I have to pay back the debts which I and my husband have incurred just to meet our daily expenses," the Dawn quoted her, as saying.

The couple has six children from their marriage; the eldest being 18 years old while the youngest is five.

The woman's husband, Rafiq, is a daily wage earner, who makes about Rs150 a day by supplying home-cooked meals to offices in the old city area.

The woman is so serious about selling the expected child that her sister approached the office of an Urdu-language newspaper asking if they could publish an advertisement announcing the sale of the child.

However, someone at the newspaper office referred her to the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, a social welfare organisation.

"For the time being, I have persuaded the mother not to sell the child. But seeing the extent of their desperation she would probably end up selling the child one way or the other," Sarim Burney, Vice-Chairman of the trust said.

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