Tough economic times drive many Pakistanis to suicide, crime and more

from the San Francisco Chronicle

A story on selling organs on the black market in Pakistan. - Kale

Ayesha Akram-Nasir,

Muhammad Amjad wipes his forehead with a grimy handkerchief before explaining the handwritten banner spread across the back of his vehicle that reads: "Kidney for sale, blood group A+."

"What can I do? There is no other way to make ends meet," said Amjad, 34, a motorized-rickshaw driver in this northwestern city. "Every time I go home, I see my children and wife looking at me with hunger in their eyes."

Amjad is one of many poverty-stricken Pakistanis driven to desperation by rising inflation and price increases in food and gasoline at a time when the nation's new coalition government has reduced state subsidies. Almost one-third of the population - about 40 million people - lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

In fact, tough economic times are driving many Pakistanis to sell organs and children, commit suicide or resort to crime, analysts and police officials say.
$1,500 to $5,000 per kidney

In three villages near Gujranwala, located about 45 miles from Lahore, nearly 1 member from each of 300 families has sold a kidney for between $1,500 and $5,000, according to regional hospitals. The kidney trade is mainly concentrated in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

In June, Gul Muhammed, a father of eight, sold his disabled 15-year-old son to a group of beggars for about $175.

"I had no choice. Due to the recent inflation, I had to do something to feed my family," said Muhammed, a resident of Rahim Yar Khan in southwest Punjab. "I'm not ashamed of myself, because at least selling my son has helped me feed my family."

Between January and May, more than 1,000 people committed suicide, mostly due to poverty, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. "I don't blame these people, because what can they do?" said Akhtar Baloch, a commission member. "The government provides no social security, and so the poor have nothing to look forward to but death or crime."

In Karachi, the nation's largest city, vehicle theft has increased by 70 percent in the past six months, according to the Citizen Police Liaison Committee.

Kashif Alam, senior superintendent of police in Peshawar, said his usually peaceful city is in the midst of a crime wave. "In the last two months, street crimes and robberies have increased at least by 25 percent," he said. "There is no denying this."

Some economists say the major reason for rising food and gas prices is the reduction of state subsidies from $6.8 billion in 2007 to $4 billion in 2008.

"The government doesn't have enough money in its kitty to provide subsidies," said Najam Sethi, editor in chief of Lahore's Friday Times, the country's only independent weekly. "Where it does manage to subsidize food prices, poor control over our borders leads to food items being smuggled into neighboring countries."

Yasmeen Rehman, a member of the National Assembly, said the government should not be blamed for rising prices.

"The checks and balances instituted by the previous government (of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz) to stem price hikes failed miserably," she said. "Additionally, the law and order situation in the country has been scaring away foreign investors, further aggravating unemployment and poverty and worsening the economic situation."

Since the government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani took office in March, prices of wheat, rice, sugar, gas and natural gas have increased exponentially. Gas and diesel prices have jumped by almost 38 percent and 41 percent respectively, natural gas by 31 percent and wheat prices by 47 percent in the last 6 months. At the same time, inflation reached a record high 31 percent during the first week of July, according to Pakistan's Federal Bureau of Statistics.

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