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Yet another Indian medical visa for ailing Pakistani

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IANS New Delhi

India will grant a medical visa to a Pakistani man seeking a liver transplant, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.

"Yes, we are granting visa for your father's liver transplant surgery in India," Sushma Swaraj tweeted in response to a request by one Hamid Ali Ashraf, who said that his father needed a liver transplant and that his condition was very bad.

On Saturday, Swaraj said that India would issue medical visas to a three-year-old and a man from Pakistan, both requiring urgent treatment.

"We are issuing visa for the open heart surgery of your three-year-old daughter in India. We also pray for her speedy recovery here," Sushma Swaraj tweeted in response to a request by Lahore-based Uzair Humayun.

 

Last month too, India issued a medical visa to a Pakistani child seeking open heart surgery in India.

On Independence Day, the External Affairs Ministry announced that India would provide medical visas to all bonafide Pakistani patients.

As ties between the two countries soured over various issues, the ministry announced in May that only a letter of recommendation by then Pakistan Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz will enable a Pakistani national to get a medical visa for India.

The action was termed "highly regrettable" by Islamabad, which said that asking for a letter from the Foreign Affairs Adviser violated diplomatic norms and such a requirement had not been prescribed for any other country.

--IANS

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First Published: Oct 09 2017 | 10:26 PM IST

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