Fizala Khan
On an early Monday morning, an advertisement – ‘Kidney for sale’ caught the attention of locals. The advertisement was published by a local newspaper in which, Sabzar Ahmed Khan, a 28-year-old youth from the Nussu area of Qazigund in the South of Kashmir, sought buyers for his kidney.
Sabzar, a metric pass – out, was also a well-settled businessman who had
multiple investment and businesses, dealerships for second-hand cars, and also owned a shop that would bring him monthly revenue.
After the abrogation of Article 370, followed by the pandemic, Sabzar suffered a huge and irreparable loss in business.
The Kashmiriyat spoke to Sabzar Ahmed Khan and he said, “I first contacted Reshi News Agency, which is a local paper since I had no means to contact anyone for help, this was the only possible solution. After abrogation, I invested in the cultivation and trade of apples, but unfortunately, that business did not flourish given with worsening economic situations from the pandemic. I couldn’t control the loss”.
After the collapse of his business, to make ends meet, he has already sold his own properties and tried to find new ways to make ends meet for his family.
“I went to seek help from many maulvis, trusts and local community mosques in hopes of repaying my debt that I owe to the bank and the people. But no one came forward, they did not respond. I didn’t seek any help from the government, that sounds like a fairy tale, they do not help their own, why would they come forward to my rescue?”
Sabzar was married to a local girl last year, with worsening economic conditions he doesn’t have enough to provide for his mother and wife, he told The Kashmiriyat.
With a sum of 60 lacs to pay back his loan to the bank and 30 lacs to pay back the people who lent him money, Sabzar is in a heavy debt of 90 lacs and absolutely no means to earn any more.
He told The Kashmiriyat that, “I have seen poverty all my life, my father
was a labourer, I have witnessed a hand – to – mouth situation from a young age. After I passed out from 10th standard, I would follow contractors
for work, I was a labourer. I followed their work and soon understood how to run a business. I became a contractor, I had a showroom for car sales and more, but the abrogation killed the rapid growth of my work”.
“I invested in apples, that failed, I tried but the failure kept worsening.
I was contacted by many news agencies for interviews and many people asked me for my bank account details. People are kind and they are sending me hundreds, thousands and lacs, but I don’t think that it will figure up the amount that I am in need of”.
Sabzar was also contacted by a local, for his advertisement about selling
his kidney. When asked if he will still look for buyers who are willing to buy his kidney, he said, “Yes, that is what I have to do if I can’t make up for the
total amount of 90 lacs. I already spoke to my mother and my wife about this, they are all worried about the financial conditions, I have already asserted that selling my kidney is what I will do”.
Stating that he is aware of the existing laws on the sale of organs, he told The Kashmiriyat, “In my state of misery, I can no longer be bothered about the act. I’ve nothing more to lose, so I am not bothered about the consequences.”
The selling of organs is illegal under the Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994. The act prevents commercial and illegal donations or advertisements of human organs. Any person in any manner if conducting negotiations or making arrangements or assisting with any intention, such as offering or receiving payment, or donating to a relative, or supplying human organs and tissues with any intention is subject to punishment in accordance with the applicable sections of this act.
Since the advertisement was published, many locals from Kashmir came forward and helped Sabzar in the hopes of repaying his debt and not selling his kidney.