NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday assured visas to two ailing Pakistani citizens within hours of their requests. Her move surprisingly comes in the wake of ceasefire violations and mounting tensions between the two countries.
“We are issuing a visa for the open heart surgery of your 3-year-old daughter in India. We also pray for her speedy recovery here,” Swaraj wrote in response to Lahore resident Uzair Humayun’s visa request. Humayun had written to Swaraj on Friday, “My 3yrs old daughter needs urgent heart surgery, kindly help me in issuing a visa. I’ll be grateful to you, Regards.”
Soon after the tweet, Swaraj assured medical visa to another Pakistani citizen in need of a liver transplant. “Yes, Noorma. We are allowing visa for the liver transplant of your father in India. We wish him a successful surgery and a long life,” Swaraj tweeted to Noorma Habib. Habib had on October 6 requested urgent help for her father, who was “in bad condition.”
This is not the first time the Indian minister took to social media to help Pakistanis who were in immediate need of medical treatment.