Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital CEO remanded in illegal kidney transplant case

ISLAMABAD – Dr. Shaukat Ali Bangash, Chief Executive Officer of Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital (QIH) on Peshawar Road, was sent on three-day physical remand by an Islamabad court on Thursday after in­vestigators linked him to an illegal kid­ney transplant racket allegedly run out.

Key points

• Nadir Hussain and transplant coordina­tor Syed Adeel Haider, were arrested on the spot.
• As the investigation progressed, the FIA's Anti-Corruption Circle remarked the trail led to Dr.
• Rawalpindi police claim 50pc drop in crime throughout Safe City covered areas.
• It permits organ donation only be­tween close relatives and prohibits any commercial transaction.
• KP to offer land ownership records through NADRA e-Sahulat centres.

What happened

Meanwhile, the case originated in May, when the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) received information that an un­related kidney transplant was being car­ried out at QIH in violation of the law. It permits organ donation only be­tween close relatives and prohibits any commercial transaction. A joint raiding team of HOTA and FIA authorities stormed the hospital and identified a transplant pro­cedure already in progress between a re­cipient, Shakeel, and a donor, Waseem Akram. This person were unrelated to each oth­er. Both men were discovered recovering in the hospital's medical ward after the sur­gery.

KP to offer land ownership records through NADRA e-Sahulat centres.

Two hospital employees, urologist Dr. Nadir Hussain and transplant coordina­tor Syed Adeel Haider, were arrested on the spot. A search of Dr. Nadir's office led to the recovery of PKR 1, 294, 000 in cash from a drawer. It investi­gators say was payment for facilitating the surgery.

Official response

HOTA authorities additionally named a third sus­pect, identified only as Saleem, described as an agent or "carrier" allegedly running an organized network supplying donors to medical practitioners in exchange for funds. An FIR was registered under Sec­tions 9, 10 and 11(a)(ii) of the Transplan­tation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010, along with Section 109 of the Paki­stan Penal Code. Makhad Sharif residents welcome ban on boat movement.

As the investigation progressed, the FIA's Anti-Corruption Circle remarked the trail led to Dr. Shaukat Ali Bangash himself. In its remand application, the agency in­voked Section 13 of the HOTA Act. It holds a company's chief executive liable for offences committed by the organiza­tion if he was responsible for its affairs at the time.

Investigators informed the court that state­ments recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, from the do­nor, recipient and other witnesses, estab­lished that the donor had been arranged through men allegedly acting as Dr. Shau­kat's front men, including Dr. Nadir Hus­sain and Adeel Sherazi.

The key numbers

Rawalpindi police claim 50pc drop in crime throughout Safe City covered areas.

For context, the FIA further alleged that PKR 1.3 million had been transferred from the bank account of agent Saleem Khan di­rectly into an account held by QIH under the title "Global Health Services, " which investigators remarked pointed to coordina­tion between the hospital's doctors and its management.

Meanwhile, the agency additionally maintained that HOTA ap­provals, medical examinations and sup­porting affidavits required for the trans­plant had been fraudulently arranged through the same network, allegedly with the hospital's knowledge. Accident on IJP Road leaves motorcyclist dead.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around quaid-e-Azam International Hospital CEO remanded in illegal kidney transplant case point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.