Sushma Swaraj helps Pakistani boy with rare heart disease get a visa to India

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's prompt action has ensured a visa to India for a Pakistani child in need of surgery for a rare heart disease.


The son of a Pakistani national, Touqeer Ali, is required to undergo an open heart surgery for a rare heart defect, Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA). The family had been running from pillar to post to seek treatment for their child. After being turned down by the doctors of Pakistan and Dubai, the family applied for an Indian visa on September 18.


Since mid-October, Ali had been urging the minister to help them get a visa to India.


Ali even tweeted a letter of recomendation from Jaypee Hospital addressed to the Indian Embassy in Islamabad.


Later that month, the Ali family got a ray of hope when the minister announced that on the auspicious ocassion of Diwali India will be granting medical visas to Pakistani nationals.

After repeatred requests on Twitter, Ali finally managed to get a personal response from the minister.

The next day, Ali informed on social media that he has received visa within 24 hours of the minister's intervention.

Swaraj has been taking a sympathetic approach in granting medical visas to Pakistani nationals, notwithstanding strain in ties between India and Pakistan over a host of issues, including cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Friday, the minister announced that a Pakistani national requiring liver transplant in India will be given visa, reported PTI.

Swaraj's announcement on Twitter came after Karachi resident Muhammad Talha last week requested the external affairs minister to grant visa to his father for treatment in India.

The minister's timeline is filled with tweets of people, especially from Pakistan, seeking her help for medical visas to India.