Sushma Swaraj grants medical visa to ailing 7-year-old Pakistani girl
Winning hearts again, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has granted a medical visa to yet another ailing Pakistani, despite the rising Indo-Pak tensions. She assured Karachi's Nida Shoaib that her seven-year-old daughter would be issued a visa to undergo an open heart surgery in India. Requesting Swaraj's help on Twitter, Shoaib said her daughter had been waiting since August for the visa. Know more!
Swaraj takes cognizance of Shoaib's tweets
Child's surgery to be performed at a Noida hospital
Nida Shoaib, the helpless mother, said her daughter's visa application filed in August is still "under process". She drew Swaraj's attention to her ailing girl's congenital heart defect, because of which she is unable to lead a normal life. Adding the girl has a saturation of only 60%, Shoaib said she cannot attend school or run like other kids due to her condition.
High Commission of India in Pakistan immediately issues visa
Swaraj extended help to Pakistanis earlier too
This isn't the first case where Sushma Swaraj helped Pakistanis needing medical treatment in India. In August, she assured a female cancer patient that she would be allowed to undergo treatment in India. In July, while issuing a medical visa to another patient, she criticized her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz for not providing a necessary approval letter for Indian visa as per rules.
PoK man granted visa without Aziz's letter
In Jul'17, a man from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), in need of medical treatment, was granted a visa by Swaraj without any letter from Sartaj Aziz. At the time, Swaraj said the rules don't apply to the patient, reiterating that PoK "is an integral part of India."
Will grant visas in all bona fide cases pending: Swaraj
On the occasion of Independence Day, Swaraj announced India would grant medical visas to all bona fide Pakistani patients. Earlier in May'17, as Indo-Pak ties deteriorated over several issues, the External Affairs Ministry announced that medical visas would be issued only after receiving a recommendation letter from Pakistan Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz. Pakistan said seeking a letter from Aziz was against diplomatic norms.
MEA achieved new heights in human-diplomacy: PM Modi praises Swaraj
PM Modi stated: "If any Indian in distress tweets from anywhere in the world to the external affairs ministry, even at two in the night, within 15 minutes Sushma Swaraj replies to it, the government takes prompt action and delivers results. This is good governance."
