Babies are being given away on Pakistani TV as part of a stunt to boost ratings. Television talk show host Aamir Liaquat Hussain gave away two abandoned babies to two different couples during live broadcasts. (Photo: Creative Commons)

Babies on Pakistani TV are being given away by television personality Aamir Liaquat Hussain. The 41-year-old broadcaster, who has hosted the TV program "Aalim Aur Aalam" since August 2010, bestowed upon two childless couples an abandoned baby each.

"This is the beautiful girl who was thrown on a pile of garbage by somebody. See how beautiful and innocent she is," Hussain said, holding a baby girl towards the camera, during last week's live studio audience taping. He then handed the baby off to a couple who had no idea they would be leaving the show with a child in tow. Hussain trumpeted the baby girl as a "gift of Ramadan."

Like Us on Facebook

"We have lots of babies that are just abandoned, left in the garbage or other dirty places," he said. "Often we just find the bodies so our message that we make is to tell people to bring their babies to us, don't just leave them."

There's a long tradition of talk show hosts giving away free stuff, like when Oprah gave away free cars to her entire studio audience in 2004. But babies?

According to The Telegraph, the month of Ramadan, the Islamic holiday that runs from the first week of July to the first week of August, is a hard month for television ratings in Pakistan, a country where almost 97 percent of the population is Muslim.

"Pakistan's raucous talk shows have huge followings," The Telegraph reports. "Controversy is never far away."

Hussain's show is one of the most popular. During the month of Ramadan, the talk show host is on air for 12 hours each day, "singing, praying or holding cookery demonstrations." He gives away prizes -- his latest gift being babies .

"It just speaks to the commercialisation of everything in Pakistani society including religion," Bina Sha, a writer, told the Sydney Morning Herald. "And giving away the baby stunt on television was the worst violation of media ethics I can think of."

Read more from iScience Times:

Most Sexist Show On TV? 'Blachman' Has Women Strip Naked While Two Men Critique Their Bodies [Graphic NSFW Video]

Television Injuries And Children: Increasing Popularity Of Flat-Screen TVs Leads To Rise In Emergency Room Visits, New Study Says