By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

“My height is a gift from God,” said Ijaz Ahmed, a towering Pakistani who has come to the Philippines to raise funds for his right leg operation.

Ahmed claims to be 8 feet and four inches and weighs 287 pounds.

According to doctors, Ijaz, 26, is still expected to grow by three to four inches, giving him the chance of clinching the Guinness World title for world’s tallest living man.

Ijaz hails from Punjab and has worked as farmer before his injury, having been born to a family of farmers.

In 2002, he injured his foot in a car accident.

Doctors had told him the operation would cost $50,000 and so in 2006, he embarked on a tour to raise money for his operation.

Over the past two years, Ijaz has raised a third of the total amount required for his operation.

Ijaz took a trip to the Philippines after he met Ann Sia of Clara International during a 2006 event in Malaysia.

Sia said Ijaz was a guest in her company’s event along with a three-foot man. Upon learning of Ijaz’s condition, she offered to host Ijaz after he visits Manila for his fund raising project.

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