Pakistan baby defies the odds

Iman was abandoned on the streets of Lahore

By Owen Bennett Jones

One month ago a little girl was born in Pakistan. Of course that is a most unremarkable event but a few hours after her birth the baby girl was abandoned - left amidst some rubbish in Lahore's red light district.

She should have died, but she was lucky. Someone found her and now she is living in one of the most splendid houses in all Lahore.

She is called Iman. It means faith. And she is a very lucky baby.

When I first saw Iman she was in a cool, air-conditioned room in one of the most splendid mansions.

To reach her I had walked through a series of interlinking courtyards with centuries old columns and fine latticed woodwork framing the archways.

Inside Iman's room, a maid sat by attentively clutching a bottle of milk. A net was draped over Iman's cot - the baby wore an intricately embroidered dress and a white frilly hat.

It was a splendid scene and a remarkable one because four week ago Iman was in very different circumstances.

Seemed to be moving

She had been left amongst some rubbish in an alley way, was tightly packed in a sheet and her mouth was covered in sticky tape.

Two dogs were trying to rip away the sheets. Death was just minutes away.

Sixty-year-old Khadim Hussain was walking towards his home that night. One the way he noticed the dogs and a bundle on the ground against a brick wall.

The bundle seemed to be moving. He shooed the dogs away, took a closer look and found Iman.

He ripped the tape from her mouth and rushed home with the baby in his arms. He saw it was a girl - and that came as little surprise - it is not uncommon for new-born baby girls to be abandoned in Pakistan.

Some orphanages even place a cradle on the pavement outside their building with a sign saying don't kill your baby. Leave it here. We'll take care of it.

Doing well

But what of Khadim Hussain? He had a problem. Iman needed food.

And then he remembered a neighbour who had just had a child. He took Iman to her and asked that she should give the baby milk. She agreed. By morning Iman was doing well.

At this point things got a little complicated. Both Khadim Hussain and the woman who was giving her milk said they wanted to keep Iman.

The police were called in to settle the dispute but they couldn't. The local mullah got involved.

He said the women suckling Iman was a prostitute and should not be allowed to bring her up. Eventually the issue came to the attention of a man called Yusuf Salahuddin.

Yusuf Salahuddin is the grandson of Pakistan's national poet Iqbal. His is an old influential family.

When people have disputes in Pakistan its quite common for them to bypass the moribund state institutions and to tun instead to the local big family. And so when Yusuf Salahuddin announced that he would like to resolve the dispute, everyone agreed.

No objections

In fact, 200 local people turned up at his home to discuss what should happen. The gathered in one of the courtyards - there were so many people that there were not enough chairs.

All eyes were on Yusuf Salahuddin as he listened to the arguments made by the two claimants of the baby.

He soon saw there was no way of bridging the gap between them. But if you all agree, he said, I shall keep Iman.

There were no objections. Within a few days she had gone from the point of death in a gutter to one of the most privileged households in the whole city.

Yusuf Salahuddin says Iman is adorable. At around five o'clock each evening he fusses and clucks like a worried father as the nanny takes Iman from her room and places her on a cushion covered golden blanket in one of the courtyards.

Cooling, soothing fountains trickle in the background. Fruit trees provide dappled shade and a home to birds which sing in the fading evening light. Iman lies on the blanket gurgling and belching.

As she does so Yusuf Salahudin's friends - many from the richest families in Lahore - drop by and bring gifts for the baby.

Sordid room

Yusuf Salahuddin says if he can find a good Muslim family who will provide Iman with love and education then he will let her be adopted. It is all a question of her fate he says.

But she has already been so fortunate, he adds, that her destiny promises great things. So Iman's future seems assured. But what of the woman who suckled her and who was then accused of being a prostitute when she tried to keep Iman?

I went to see her. Her name is Saiqa and she lives in a small sordid room with a bed and little else.

A noisy dilapidated fan hung form the ceiling circulating the fetid air.

"Are you satisfied with what's happened?" I asked. "Oh yes," she said. "It's wonderful. I would have liked to keep her but I do already have my own child and just think she's now in Yusuf Salauddin's house with everything she could want."

And as Saiqa contemplated Iman's very lucky break a broad smile lit up her care-worn face.