1 of 8. A childless couple kisses their newly adopted daughter, Fatima, whom Pakistani television talk show host Aamir Liaquat Hussain gave them on his show, as they sit at the Chhipa Welfare Association office in Karachi August 1, 2013. 
 
 ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani television is screening what many call its most controversial content yet in a ruthless quest for ratings: a talk-show host who gives away babies live on air. 
 
 Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a bespectacled 41-year-old with a neatly trimmed beard, gave away two abandoned infant girls to childless families last month and plans to give away a baby boy this week. 
 
 "If we didn't find this baby, a cat or a dog would have eaten it," Hussain proclaimed during one broadcast, before presenting a tiny girl wrapped in pink and red to her new parents. The audience erupted with applause. 
 
 Hussain is one of Pakistan's most popular talk-show hosts. During his marathon broadcasts he cooks, interviews clerics and celebrities, entertains children and hosts game shows. 
 
 He usually gives prizes like motorbikes, mobile phones and land deeds to audience members who answer questions about Islam. 
 
 But at the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when television stations battle fiercely for ratings, Hussain astonished Pakistan when he presented two families with babies. 
 
 "We were told that we had passed all the interviews and had been selected to adopt a baby," said Riaz Uddin, 40, an engineer. "We got our baby on live TV." 
 
 The abandoned babies were rescued by the Chhipa Welfare Association, a Pakistani aid organization. 
 
 "In a day or two, the next baby will be given away, God willing," its head, Ramzan Chhipa, told Reuters on Thursday. 
 
 While the Chhipa teams scour the garbage dumps and other sites for discarded newborns, Hussain is also appealing for babies directly. 
 
 "If any family cannot afford to bring up their new born baby due to poverty or illness then instead of killing them, they should hand over the baby to Dr Aamir," a notice on his website reads. The children would be given to deserving couples on air, the notice said. 
 
 The show's producers did not return Reuters calls seeking comment. It was not clear if poor families wishing to keep their children would also be helped. 
 
 FIGHTING FOR VIEWERS 
 
 Many Pakistanis expressed disgust that abandoned babies were being given away in what they see as an attempt to boost ratings. Chhipa insisted thousands of people wanted a baby and all potential parents were properly vetted. 
 
 The true outrage, he said, was the poverty forcing families to abandon children. 
 
 Hussain's show is one of many such broadcasts. The Pakistani media has flourished over the past decade or so following the liberalization of the industry, particularly broadcasting, after decades of tight state control. 
 
 Now, instead of battling state restrictions, presenters fight for audiences and advertising by seeing who is most outrageous. 
 
 Recent episodes include a female anchor stalking couples in a park to challenge their morality, and a news program which once ran a live broadcast showing a staff member bleeding to death in an operating theatre after he was shot in a riot. 
 
 Even among this company, Hussain stands out. In 2008, he hosted scholars who called for the deaths of Ahmadis, a persecuted religious sect in Pakistan. Within a day, two prominent Ahmadis had been shot dead. 
 
 The year before, he had to resign from his post as junior minister for religious affairs after denouncing author Salman Rushdie for blasphemy, a crime punished by death in Pakistan. 
 
 Since then, his university degree has been exposed as a fake and a video showing him making crude jokes with clerics between takes of his show has leaked onto YouTube. 
 
 "There is nothing they won't do to get viewers," said comedian Sami Shah. "If I was a cynic, I'd say this can only end badly. But since I'm a realist, I'll say it's already ended terribly." 
 
 (Additional reporting by Zeeshan Ahmed; Editing by Robert Birsel) ||||| Story highlights Pakistani game show gives away unwanted babies 
 
 Childless parents received baby girls during live broadcasts 
 
 Critics say it's a publicity stunt to win Ramadan ratings battle 
 
 Another newborn due to be given away in coming days 
 
 Plumbing new depths in the battle for television ratings, abandoned babies are being given away on a controversial prime-time game show in Pakistan. 
 
 TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain presented baby girls to two unsuspecting couples during his show, which is broadcast live for seven hours a day during the month of Ramadan. 
 
 "I was really shocked at first. I couldn't believe we were being given this baby girl," said Suriya Bilqees, now a mother of a two-week old. "I was extremely happy." 
 
 Another baby, a boy, is due to be given to another couple at some point in the coming days. 
 
 The show's host has been described as a religious scholar, TV megastar and even a sex symbol. His heady mix of religion and entertainment is often followed by controversy. 
 
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 "At Christmas there's Santa Claus to give everyone gifts, it's important for Christians. For us Ramadan is a really special time so it's really important to make people happy and reward them," said Hussain. 
 
 His show -- Aman Ramazan -- has been dubbed Pakistan's version of The Price Is Right, with members of the 500-strong audience receiving prizes in exchange for answering questions on the Quran. 
 
 The giveaway bonanza includes motorbikes, microwave ovens, washing machines and fridges. 
 
 He also cooks while men sing Islamic hymns and discusses religion with children in a garden full of rabbits, snakes and goats. 
 
 The baby girls given away on the show were found by an NGO, the Chhipa Welfare Association , which says it receives up to 15 abandoned babies a month. 
 
 "Our team finds babies abandoned on the street, in garbage bins -- some of them dead, others mauled by animals. So why not ensure the baby is kept alive and gets a good home?" said Ramzan Chhipa, who runs the organization. 
 
 "We didn't just give the baby away. We have our own vetting procedure. This couple was already registered with us and had four or five sessions with us." 
 
 But, the couple didn't know they would be handed a newborn when they were invited to take part in the show and paperwork was not processed before the live broadcast. 
 
 Adoption is not officially recognized in Pakistan and there is no adoption law. The couple will have to apply for guardianship at a family court. 
 
 Some viewers praised the show's baby giveaway but others declared it a publicity stunt. 
 
 "Pakistan wake up," Shamim Mahmood wrote on the NGO's Facebook page. "Babies are not trophies to be handed to just anyone." 
 
 Hussain says it isn't a gimmick to win ratings during the Islamic holy month. He believes his show is unifying a fractured nation, plagued by sectarian violence, religious intolerance and terrorism. 
 
 "These are the disenfranchised babies that grow up to be street kids and used for suicide bombing attacks. We have tried to show an alternative," he said. 
 
 "Telling people to take these kids off the rubbish on the streets, raise them and make them a responsible citizen, not to destroy society through terrorism," he said. 
 
 The show has proved extremely popular, breaking ratings records and may be extended beyond its Ramadan run. He is also planning another program where the audience will be from the minority Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities. 
 
 "We've created a symbol of peace and love, that's our show's theme -- to spread love. I'm setting an example. Giving a childless couple an abandoned child," Hussain said.
– Next time someone complains that American TV has gone a little too far, suggest they take a look at the new gimmick of one of Pakistan's most popular shows: free baby giveaways. As in, actual human babies. Host Aamir Liaquat Hussain gave away two infant girls last month and plans to keep going, reports Reuters. Witness the posting on his website: "If any family cannot afford to bring up their new born baby due to poverty or illness then instead of killing them, they should hand over the baby to Dr Aamir." The first two babies were provided by a Pakistani aid organization that takes in abandoned infants, and both the show and the organization insist that the recipients were vetted. "If we didn't find this baby, a cat or a dog would have eaten it," Hussain told his cheering audience before handing over one of the baby girls to a childless couple. Reuters explains that Pakistan has loosened its control over broadcasting in recent years, leading to a slew of such ratings-grabbing stunts. CNN describes this particular show, Aman Ramazan, as a Pakistani version of The Price is Right. Audience members typically win prizes for correctly answering questions about the Koran. Only now, the show is giving away babies along with fridges and microwaves.