Removing organs of missing children just rumours, SC told

Court seeks detailed report by Sept 16;
directs media to avoid sensationalising the issue

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Thursday said there was no reality in unverified news reports about children being kidnapped for selling vital body organs, as these were only rumours.

Advocate General Shakilur Rehman appeared before a two-member Supreme Court bench at Lahore registry and no gang had been identified for being involved in selling of children’s body parts. He added that rumours on social media caused a panic among parents.

Justice Saqib Nisar expressed concerns over the matter and urged citizens not to trust rumours spread through social media. The judge said civil society and NGOs should play their role to discourage people involved in spreading such rumours. He also asked media to avoid sensationalising the issue.

The advocate general submitted a report before the court, which showed that 139 children out of a total of 310 missing/ abducted had been recovered till Aug 23.He said serious efforts were being made for the recovery of the remaining children.

King Edward Medical University VC Dr Faisal Masood told the court that extracting organs, like kidney, from children of five years of age or below was not possible and useless. A removed kidney was required to be transplanted within 45 minutes, which was not possible in such cases, he added.

The court adjourned further hearing till Sept 16 and directed the top provincial law officer, who also heads a high-level committee, to submit a detailed report on the matter.

The court was hearing suo motu notice against the increasing incidents of missing/ abducted children in the province.Previously, the court had constituted the high-level committee under the supervision of advocate general to ensure early recovery of these children.