Visas would be given to all the sterling cases from Pakistan that are pending with the Ministry, said the Foreign Affair Minister, Sushma Swaraj. She has made this announcement to give medical visas to Pakistanis on India’s independence day. The has initiated her decision by granting a visa to Pakistani lady, Faiza Tanveer.
Earlier, Tanveer had requested Swaraj to grant her a medical visa and said she should not be denied it as India is about to celebrate the auspicious occasion of its 70th Independence Day. Sushma has received many requests from Pakistanis about the same.
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. She had urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help her visit India for treatment after her visa application was reportedly rejected by the Indian embassy in Pakistan. Tanveer in several tweets over the past couple of days has urged Swaraj to intervene. She has also posted her photo and a video that showed her tumour.
Last month she said that India has not imposed any restrictions on medical visas for foreign patients but in the case of those from Pakistan, a recommendation letter from Advisor to the Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs is required for obtaining a visa. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said the government has issued more than a lakh of medical visas so far in this year. He also said that in 2017 till date, 1,05,163 medical visas have been issued while 1,77, 972 such visas were issued in 2016.