2 doctors remanded in transplant case

LAHORE

A judicial magistrate of the district courts on Saturday granted four-day physical remand of seven accused of illegal organ transplant trade to Federal Investigation Agency.

The FIA had arrested two doctors, one of them identified as Shahid Rasheed, three operation theatre assistants and two facilitators in Toba Tek Singh.

The FIA officials produced the accused before the court and sought their physical remand to carry out investigation. The court granted physical remand of the accused for four days directing FIA to produce them again by October 18 along with investigation report till that date. An FIA team had raided a makeshift operation theatre in Pir Mahal, Toba Tek Singh and arrested the members of an alleged illegal organ transplant racket. At the time of the arrest, the doctors were conducting a procedure on a Saudi national Fahad Hijaz and a donor woman.  However, the FIA team allowed the doctors to complete the procedure as the life of both donor and the recipient was in danger.

After completion of the procedure, the Saudi national and the donor were shifted to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, where the condition of Saudi National Fahad Hijaz was stated to be critical.  Meanwhile, it was also learnt that the Saudi national and his one of the attendants had travelled to Pakistan on fake visas.

AC remanded: An accountability court on Saturday sent Shalimar Assistant Commissioner Safdar Virk on judicial remand, an accused of embezzling millions of rupees while appointed as sub registrar of Wahga Town.

NAB had started an inquiry after receiving complaints of corruption in Wahga Town Registrar office. The inquiry was started in April which was converted into an investigation. During the investigation, it was revealed that Safdar Virk during the tenure between September 2016 to February 2017 deputed as sub registrar, Wagha Town, embezzled millions with the connivance of other officials. The suspects filed bogus entries during the registry process. Four other accused are already in the custody of NAB in this case.

plea against Saeed: A federal review board comprising judges of the Supreme Court on Saturday disposed of as withdrawn an application filed by Punjab Home Department seeking extension in the detention period of Jamatud Dawa (JuD) head Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his four aides under Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The government did not produce Hafiz Saeed before the board, however, other detained leaders of the JuD; Abdul Rehman Makki, Qazi Kashif Hussain, Abdullah Ubaid and Malik Zafar Iqbal; were produced under tight security.