SUSHMA HELPS PAK FAMILY GET VISA FOR BABY’S HEART SURGERY

NOIDA: A month after India said it will consider medical visas for Pakistani patients only if the application is backed by a recommendation from Pakistan Prime Minister’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj cut the red tape to help a Pakistani infant get medical aid.

The parents of four-monthold Rohaan, a congenital heart patient, were facing difficulty in procuring a medical visa for his treatment in India due to the strained relationship between two countries.

The family lives in Lahore. However, Rohaan will be visiting India on June 12. Swaraj intervened in the case and arranged visa for the family.

He will be treated first by a paediatric cardiologist for a hole in his heart and will later undergo a heart surgery at Noida-based Jaypee Hospital. The doctors at Jaypee confirmed the family’s arrival date.

“We are thankful to the minister for ensuring that the family gets the visa at the earliest. Keeping aside the tensions between the two countries, the minister did a noble act of thinking about the child’s health. We, at Jaypee Hospital welcome the baby and family,” said Dr Manoj Luthra, CEO, Jaypee Hospital.

It was a tweet of a distressed father that caught Swaraj’s attention who assured him of help. Rohaan’s father Kanwal Saadik took to Twitter on May 24 after trying to obtain the visas.

On May 31, Swaraj replied to the request, assuring that Rohaan won’t be a victim to the strained ties between two countries. “No. The child will not suffer. Pls contact Indian High Commission in Pakistan. We will give the medical visa ,” said Swaraj on Twitter.