QUETTA: A Pakistani father of 35 is now searching for a fourth wife as he focuses on his goal of 100 children.
Sardar Jan Mohammad Khilji, 46, says he believes it is his religious duty to have as many children as possible.
Jan, who claims he is a qualified medical technician, runs an unregulated clinic where he treats people for minor ailments such as headaches, adding that as he is “serving humanity” he charges just Rs.250 (SR10) per patient while providing his services to the poor for free.
He also runs a seminary funded by donations where nearly 400 students — including four of his sons — are studying, and says he pays for 20 of his 35 children to attend private school.
The household expenditures of his growing empire, however, can reach up to Rs.120,000 (SR4,300)per month — more than ten times Pakistan’s average — in a neighborhood that lacks basic amenities such as tap water and sewage, he said.
His three wives support his procreational and matrimonial goals, he said, adding that they all live in harmony together — though he would not allow journalists to speak with them.
While his eldest child is 15, his youngest is just a few weeks old. At the beginning of March he was still a father of merely 33, but that month two more daughters were born within six days of one another, he says.
His marriages were all arranged by his parents. “I married the first one when I was 26 years old, and the next year wedded the other two within a gap of five months,” he said.
His next wedding, however, could be arranged via Facebook: since his story aired in Pakistani media, he says, he has had a slew of marriage offers via the social network.
A large poster on the wall at Jan’s house carries the symbol he used when he ran for provincial office in 2013: a double bed, which, he told AFP, “denotes special pleasure and meaning in my life”. That time at least, his ambition fell short: He garnered 980 votes, not nearly enough to win.
Sardar Jan Mohammad Khilji, 46, says he believes it is his religious duty to have as many children as possible.
Jan, who claims he is a qualified medical technician, runs an unregulated clinic where he treats people for minor ailments such as headaches, adding that as he is “serving humanity” he charges just Rs.250 (SR10) per patient while providing his services to the poor for free.
He also runs a seminary funded by donations where nearly 400 students — including four of his sons — are studying, and says he pays for 20 of his 35 children to attend private school.
The household expenditures of his growing empire, however, can reach up to Rs.120,000 (SR4,300)per month — more than ten times Pakistan’s average — in a neighborhood that lacks basic amenities such as tap water and sewage, he said.
His three wives support his procreational and matrimonial goals, he said, adding that they all live in harmony together — though he would not allow journalists to speak with them.
While his eldest child is 15, his youngest is just a few weeks old. At the beginning of March he was still a father of merely 33, but that month two more daughters were born within six days of one another, he says.
His marriages were all arranged by his parents. “I married the first one when I was 26 years old, and the next year wedded the other two within a gap of five months,” he said.
His next wedding, however, could be arranged via Facebook: since his story aired in Pakistani media, he says, he has had a slew of marriage offers via the social network.
A large poster on the wall at Jan’s house carries the symbol he used when he ran for provincial office in 2013: a double bed, which, he told AFP, “denotes special pleasure and meaning in my life”. That time at least, his ambition fell short: He garnered 980 votes, not nearly enough to win.
