Pakistani man sells daughter, 10, to pay for eye op

KARACHI, Feb 16 (Reuters) A Pakistani man sold his 10-year old daughter for 0 to pay for his eye operation, a police official in the southern province of Sindh said today.

The father Noor Mohammad had agreed to hand his daughter over to a fellow villager, Gul Mohammad Kalohi, once she reached puberty, according to Abdul Hadi, District Police Officer for Badin, some 250 km east of Karachi.

''It is a shameful incident and has taken place,'' Hadi said.

''We were informed about this incident from a complaint made by a relative of the father.'' Police have completed their investigation of the case, but no charges have been laid yet as they were still determining which district had jurisdiction as Kolai village, near Tando Bagho town, lay on a boundary.

Zia Awan, a noted rights lawyer, said under the children's protection law in Sindh the father could be sentenced to a year in prison.

Such cases are relatively common in rural parts of Pakistan, where feudal and tribal customs prevail. Men either sell or exchange their daughters to pay off debts or settle disputes.

REUTERS PDM KN2002