Swarmed with requests for medical visas from Pakistani nationals, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday once again asked them to get their applications first vetted by their Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz before seeking visas. Sushma pointed out that when she can write letters to Aziz requesting visas for Indian nationals why can’t he do the same for Pakistanis. In fact, Sushma took the opportunity to slam Aziz for not showing the courtesy of acknowledging a letter by her addressed to him, seeking a visa for Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother Avantika Jadhav.
“I have my sympathies for all Pakistani nationals seeking medical visas for their treatment in India. I am sure Mr Sartaj Aziz also has consideration for the nationals of his country. All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visas to Pakistani nationals.
I see no reason why he should hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country. We also have a visa application pending for an Indian national Ms Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan against whom they have pronounced a death sentence,” Sushma said in a series of tweets.
“I wrote a personal letter to Mr Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. However, Mr. Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter. But I assure Pakistani nationals seeking medical visas with a recommendation from Mr. Sartaj Aziz, we will issue the visa immediately,” Sushma added.
India has tightened its visa norms for Pakistani nationals in view of the deteriorating ties between the two countries, particularly after Kulbhushan Jadhav was given the death penalty by a Pakistani military court. India’s 17 requests for consular access have been turned down and an effort to fly Jadhav’s mother to Pakistan to meet him and file a petition in the Pakistani court too has been shot down.
However, despite her clear message and norms that all applications for medical visas need to have Aziz’s recommendations, Pakistani citizens have been directly seeking Sushma’s intervention in getting medical visas for treatment in Indian hospitals. To some extent Sushma has gone out of the way in getting medical visas on humanitarian grounds. In fact, last month, a two-and-a-half-month-old baby from Pakistan, suffering from a heart disease, was granted a medical visa after his father sought Sushma’s intervention.
Ken Sid, a Pakistani national, had reached out to Sushma through Twitter for a medical visa for his son, who has a heart complication which cannot be treated in Pakistan. “It is heartening to see humanity prevailing despite many differences. Thank you for your efforts. Humanity prevails! God bless everyone,” Sid tweeted later.
Recently a woman suffering from cancer in Pakistan urged Sushma to help her visit India for treatment after her visa application was reportedly rejected by the Indian Embassy. Faiza Tanveer, 25, is suffering from a recurrent ameloblastoma, an oral tumour which is aggressive in nature. She planned to visit the Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital (IDCH) in Ghaziabad and paid Rs 10 lakh in advance for treatment, according to a Pakistani media report. But the Indian High Commission in Islamabad rejected her medical visa application, the report said. Tanveer’s mother claimed that her application was rejected because of deteriorating ties between the two countries. That forced Tanveer to take to the social media to move Indian authorities.