RAWALPINDI:
The FIA Anti-Corruption Circle in Islamabad has made a major breakthrough against an illegal human kidney transplant network by arresting two key suspects, and investigations have revealed important new details.
Officials said the FIA teams arrested the main agent, Shabbir Hussain, from Jalalpur Bhattian in Hafizabad district, while his close associate and alleged sub-agent, Ghulam Abbas, was apprehended from Khanewal in connection with case number 16 of 2026.
The suspects are accused of recruiting financially vulnerable people by luring them with small amounts of money to act as kidney donors for an organized illegal transplant network. Earlier, the FIA had also arrested Dr Nadir and members of his team in Islamabad for their alleged involvement in illegal kidney transplant procedures.
Ongoing investigations indicate that Dr. Nadir may have been involved in approximately 187 illegal kidney transplants, and further investigations are underway into several aspects of the case. Officials said the network charged recipients between 6 million and 10 million rupees per transplant, while donors – mostly poor and disadvantaged individuals – were paid only a fraction of that amount.
Investigators further revealed that Shabbir Hussain, through secondary agents, targeted labourers, daily wage earners and other disadvantaged groups in Punjab and Islamabad, convincing them to donate kidneys in exchange for financial incentives. He is suspected of having facilitated the collection of more than 50 donors for Dr Nadir.
The investigation also revealed that the group allegedly used falsified and fraudulent documents to obtain approval from the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), without the proper legal authorization from the relevant evaluation committee. The FIA is investigating this aspect to identify all those involved in counterfeiting and regulatory violations.
The officials added that the network was not limited to Pakistani citizens as it was also suspected of being involved in kidney transplants involving Afghan, Chinese and Saudi nationals. The financial records and associated data are currently subject to forensic and legal review.
Shabbir Hussain has a criminal history with several FIA cases registered against him, but he had previously managed to evade arrest. Authorities described his capture as an important step in a nationwide crackdown on the illegal organ trade.
The FIA said operations would continue against all facilitators, agents and financiers involved in the network, and assured that all accused would be brought to justice through legal proceedings.
