Sushma Swaraj shows India’s humanitarian side to Pakistan yet again

Sushma’s humanitarian gesture came after Sadia, the Pakistani woman’s daughter, requested the Minister to grant a visa to her mother.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File| PTI)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File| PTI)

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday came to the rescue of yet another ailing Pakistani, by asking the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to grant a visa to the woman who wants to come to India for a liver transplant. She also promised to help out two other Pakistani nationals with similar requests.

Sushma’s humanitarian gesture came after Sadia, the Pakistani woman’s daughter, requested the Minister to grant a visa to her mother. “We will certainly help. I have asked Indian High Commission in Pakistan to issue a visa for the liver transplant of your mother. @IndiainPakistan,” Sushma said in a tweet.

Sushma also responded to similar requests by other foreigners, including two Pakistani nationals on Sunday.

In response to a plea for the medical visa by Nasir Mahmood Ahmed, she said the Indian mission in Pakistan would examine his papers and send her a report. In a tweet, Ahmed informed Sushma that he wanted to undergo liver and kidney transplants in India.

To yet another plea by Pakistani national Hira Azhar for a medical visa for her father, Sushma 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,” she said on the micro-blogging site.

Earlier, Hira, currently based in Saudi Arabia, had tweeted, “@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.”

Sushma has been adopting a humanitarian approach in granting visas to Pakistani nationals on medical grounds, notwithstanding the strained relationship between the two countries over a host of sticky issues, including cross-border terrorism.

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