External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 29 August said India would grant a medical visa to a newborn baby from Pakistan whose family said was suffering from a cardiac ailment.
Swaraj’s assurance to the Lahore-based family came after the mother of the child, Rohaan, sought the Minister's intervention.
A number of Pakistani citizens had tweeted requesting India to issue a medical visa for the child's treatment.
Rohaan's mother, Mehwish Mukhtar, had tweeted:
In recent months, Swaraj has heeded requests by a number of Pakistani citizens to grant medical visas despite strained ties between the two countries.
On August 15, Swaraj said India would grant medical visa to Pakistani nationals in genuine pending cases.
In May, the External Affairs Minister said India would grant medical visas to those Pakistani nationals whose applications were recommended by Pakistan Prime Minister’s Foreign Office Advisor Sartaj Aziz.
Aziz, however, is no longer the Pakistan PM’s Foreign Office Advisor, as he has been appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
The visa for baby Rohaan has been already been issued and dispatched.
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