NEW DELHI, Nov 19:
In yet another humanitarian gesture, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today asked the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to grant a visa to a Pakistani woman for a liver transplant in India.
Her intervention came after Sadia, the ailing woman’s daughter, requested Swaraj for grant of a visa to her mother.
“We will certainly help. I have asked Indian High Commission in Pakistan to issue visa for the liver transplant of your mother. @IndiainPakistan,” Swaraj said in a tweet.
To a request for medical visa by another Pakistani national Nasir Mahmood Ahmed, Swaraj said the Indian mission in Pakistan will examine his papers and send her a report.
Ahmed, in a tweet to Swaraj, said he wants to undergo liver and kidney transplants in India.
To a plea by Pakistani national Hira Azhar for a medical visa for her father, Swaraj asked her to contact the Indian Mission in Riyadh in this connection.
“Pls contact @IndianEmbRiyadh. We will give medical visa for the liver transplant of your father in India,” Swaraj said on the micro-blogging site.
Earlier, Hira, currently based in Saudi Arabia, had said, “@SushmaSwaraj My dad’s only hope is an urgent liver transplant. We are Pakistanis in KSA and waiting for the visa to India. Please help.”
Swaraj has been adopting a humanitarian approach in granting visas to Pakistani nationals on medical ground notwithstanding strain in relationship between the two countries over a host of sticky issues, including cross-border terrorism. (PTI)