Video director Saqib Siddiqui held in Indian hospital

He has been denied discharge due to non-payment of $8,000 fee

LAHORE: Renowned Pakistani video director Saqib Siddiqui recently travelled to India for a liver transplant. However, he has been stopped by the hospital's administration for apparently not paying his dues. The film-maker is still at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram as the institution will not discharge him until he clears the $8,000 payment.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the director stated that he has already spent $43,000 on the liver transplant. Therefore, he is unable to pay the additional sum.

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

Siddiqui is among some of the most famous video directors in Lahore. He has directed around 300 music videos, which include working with the likes of Abrarul Haq, Saira Naseem, Humaira Arshad, Jawad Ahmad, Naseebo Lal and Nouman Javed. He is popular amongst Lahore-based artists for the same.

Nevertheless, Siddiqui has faced numerous hardships in the last four years, mainly due to his liver disease. After countless hospital runs, doctors advised him to go for a transplant. Thus, he decided to travel to India as no public hospital in Lahore offers the services required and other hospitals around Pakistan were proving to be very expensive.

"I am in trouble. The hospital administration is asking me to pay the additional fees but all my money has finished," Siddiqui began explaining. "I have been suffering for four years due to my illness and even applied for Prime Minister funds three years ago but received no response." He added that he had been saving up for the transplant for years.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

"I chose this hospital in India because of its reputation. Although the transplant was successful, my kidneys were affected because of it. Therefore, I had to get additional treatment and thus, the bill increased."

Siddiqui went on to share that the Pakistan High Commission also contacted him but are still in the process of investigating the matter. "I request the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Punjab Chief Minister to listen to my case and provide me with financial support. My illness was very serious which led to circumstances beyond my control."

The artist community has come together to create awareness of Siddiqui's case by spreading the word and sharing his video message.

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