Islamabad: Five handicapped siblings, suffering from a degenerative disease, put up their old parents for auction in Pakistan's Punjab province as the family had nothing to eat and had been starving for the past two days.
The auction of the parents was organised outside the district coordination officer (DCO) office in Khanewal town, Express Tribune reported on Friday.
The disabled brothers and sisters invited bids to sell their parents, saying that their family was starving and that their parents had volunteered to be sold if the money could pay for their treatment.
Retired railways official Muhammad Sarwar's five children - Tanveer, Badar, Safdar, Zaheer and Nadia - have become disabled due to a genetic degenerative disorder.
Sarwar had sold off his entire property, including furniture, to pay for his children's treatment and were not able to afford the medical bills.
The siblings said they had been starving for two days when they decided to auction their parents.
"The government earlier promised to give us financial assistance but we didn't receive anything.”
"We are desperate," Safdar said.
They said since their father was retired and they were disabled, the family had no sources of income.
IANS
First Published: Friday, February 11, 2011, 15:42