NEW DELHI: Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Monday said that visas will be issued to Pakistani patients on the recommendation of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
In a series of tweets, Swaraj said she sympathised with “those seeking medical visa for their treatment in India”, adding that she saw no reason for Sartaj Aziz to “hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country.” She further assured Pakistani nationals of an immediate visa once the adviser issued a recommendation.
The Indian minister further added she had personally written a letter to Aziz requesting him to grant a visa for the mother of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jhadav who wants to meet her son in prison. However, she said that Aziz had not acknowledged the letter she wrote to him. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in Pakistan on charges of espionage and terrorism earlier this year.
Last week, the Indian Embassy rejected the visa application of Faiza Tanveer citing deteriorating relations between the two countries as the reason for refusal. Tanveer was due to receive treatment at the Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital (IDCH) in Ghaziabad for a recurrent ameloblastoma, a cancerous oral tumour which is aggressive in nature.
Nonetheless, Akhtar was told by the embassy officials that her daughter could get a medical visa if Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz wrote to Swaraj, requesting for it. Tanveer appealed to politicians in both countries to help facilitate her application.
