JAIPUR: Three Pakistani students, keen to come to India to sit for the NEET exam, are desperately praying that the Indian High Commission in Islamabad will help them to cross the border.
The NEET exam is scheduled to start on September 13.
The three students from Sindh province are siblings who belong to Bheel tribe. Their father Hakim Mal is a doctor. All his three children want to study in India to become doctors. Admit cards for Anita and Pushpa Kumari and their brother Mahesh Kumar have already been issued and their examination centre is in Jodhpur. However, they have not yet got the visas.
An uncle of the three students, Dr. Ravi Bheel came to India from Pakistan in 1990 and got Indian Citizenship in 2004. Dr. Ravi, who now practices medicine in Jaisalmer, says the three students had applied online under the NRI quota and have even applied to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for their visas.
“They have been asked to stay in Islamabad till the Indian High Commission examines their papers. The coronavirus reports for all three students have come negative. The Indian mission has kept all their papers. We hope that when they take a final decision in this case, they will keep the future of these youngsters in mind. I hope they will tackle this case on a humanitarian basis and issue visas to the students on an urgent basis.”
Dr Ravi says he came to India to escape religious persecution and build a better life in India. After him, a majority of his relatives have also come to India but only his sister remains in Pakistan. These three students his children of that sister. "All the three are very intelligent and we are keen that our children can come here to become doctors. Once they are here, they will not only get a good education but also realize how freedom really feels. If they are not allowed to come here, their future could be ruined.”
“We can only try. That's all which is in our hands. What can we do if they don't give us visas,” Dr. Ravi said.
The Seemant Lok Sangathan, a Jodhpur-based NGO which raises the voice of Hindu migrants from Pakistan, has taken up this issue. Hindu Singh Sodha, the president of the NGO said: “We have written a letter to foreign ministry not to complicate this case and issue visas as there are only a few days left for the exam. When they have given online permission for the students to take the NEET exam, they must also issue the visa.”