Comatose abroad: US ready to extend Shahzaib’s visa, says FO

ISLAMABAD:

As the relatives and friends of Shahzaib Bajwa – the Pakistani student left comatose following an accident in the United States – raise funds for his treatment, the Foreign Office said on Thursday that Washington is ready to extend his visa if his family can bear the cost of medical care and their stay.

“Visa extension is not a problem,” said FO spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam at her weekly briefing.“But if the family decides to continue the treatment in the US, the payment for Shahzaib’s future treatment as well as the expenditure on his family’s stay will have to be borne by the family itself,” she said.

Aslam said doctors were not optimistic about Shahzaib’s recovery.

“Since his visa is expiring on February 28, the hospital is considering sending him back to Pakistan,” she said. She added that while initially, the Pakistani embassy had been given the impression that Shahzaib’s family was willing to take him back to Pakistan, they had now indicated their preference to continue his treatment in the US.



“Visas for Shahzaib’s brother and cousin have been arranged on an urgent basis. A visa was also arranged for Shahzaib’s mother,” she said.

The spokesperson said the consulate has arranged free accommodation for two months for Shahzaib’s family through IREX, the organisation that runs the exchange programme. The consulate general also mobilised the local Pakistani community to arrange accommodation for Shahzaib’s family for the last one month.

By Thursday afternoon, an online appeal created by Shahzaib’s brother raised more than $19,000.

A change.org petition created by a friend that calls on the United States to extend his visa has so far gathered over 1,000 signatures, many of which came from Americans.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2014.