young children are being exploited because of an ancient fertility tradition that leaves many children deformed and sold into begging.
On an ordinary weekday at the shrine of Shah Dola in the Punjabi city of Gujrat, hundreds of worshippers come to celebrate the life of one of Pakistan's most revered Sufi saints.
Some choose to show their respect by dancing wildly - in a state of ecstasy.
Experts say they are being deliberately deformed by criminal gangs operating around the shrine who then use them for begging.
Many of the children handed over to the shrine or those claiming to represent it end up on the streets.
At the main bus-stand in Gujrat we quickly came across a group of several rat-children with their owners.
They all have the distinctive shrunken heads; they're severely handicapped and can't even speak.
With their owners close behind, they approach passengers sitting in their minibuses waiting to leave. They demand money and they get it.
High value beggars
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