Man 'sold wife's kidney to buy tractor'

A farmer persuaded doctors to remove one of his wife's kidneys so that he could sell it for money to buy a tractor, she has told police.

Safia Thaheem Bibi discovered the organ was missing only when she sought treatment for an unrelated complaint.

She told Pakistani police that she confronted her husband who confessed he had used the 70,000 rupees (about £600) he got for the kidney to buy a second-hand tractor for his rice fields.

A new tractor would have set Ahmed back about £5,000, so instead he is alleged to have invested in a second-hand machine - a valuable commodity in a region where a farmer can earn up to £250 a month hiring it out.

Ahmed is currently on bail in connection with the case, along with a number of his relatives. All insist they are innocent. If convicted of having the kidney removed unlawfully, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.