New Delhi: Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj continues to grant visas to Pakistani nationals for undergoing medical treatment in India. On December 6, 2017, Minister Sushma approved medical visas for eight Pakistani nationals out of which four want to undergo liver transplant in India and four are seeking medical treatment in India. In a series of tweet, Minister Swaraj confirmed granting visas to Pakistani nationals and wished the ailing individuals, seeking medical treatment in India, speedy recovery.
Mr. Hussain Haji Ashique, who is suffering from last stage of liver disease, his only hope of survival is an urgent liver transplant. According to his doctor’s letter, his appointment was scheduled on November 1, 2017 at BLK Super Specialty Hospital in Delhi and the patient and attendants need to stay there for three months, but he had not got his visa. Mr. Hussain’s son Farooq Ahmed tweeted all the details requesting Minister Sushma to grant visa to his father, donor and the attendants. Responding to Farooq’s request, Minister Swaraj asked him to contact Indian High Commission in Pakistan. She assured him that the commission will examine his papers and will send a report at the earliest.
On December 4, 2017, another Pakistani national Zeeshan had put forward a similar request for his wife who is suffering from Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). Zeeshan’s wife needs to undergo a heart and a lung transplant at Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai. Minister Sushma was his last hope as he had been trying for a visa approval from a long time, but every time he contacted Indian High Commission, he was told that if madam (Minister Sushma) approves than we will issue it to you. Pained to know about Zeeshan’s wife’s condition, Ms Swaraj assured him of the visa approval.
On December 5, 2017, Minister Swaraj also tweeted about the appeal for medical visa from Pakistani nationals. She asked the individuals to submit all the documents with Indian High Commission.
Ms Swaraj, who herself underwent a kidney transplant last year in December, is known to be prompt with issuing visas on humanitarian grounds to individuals in need from Pakistan. Last month, before and after National Organ Donation Day she granted visas to eight Pakistani nationals and 7 out of the total 8 visas requests were for organ transplant. Both India and Pakistan both have poor organ donation rates. While India a country with a population of 1.3 billion has 0.8 donations per million people, Pakistan with a population of 193 million has 0.2 organ donations per million people.
Also Read: Giving Priority To Medical Emergencies, Sushma Swaraj Continues To Give Visas To Pakistani Nationals