Pakistani woman turns to Sushma Swaraj for cancer treatment in India

25-year-old oral tumour patient Faiza Tanveer's visa request was rejected by Indian embassy over 'deteriorating...

A Pakistani woman suffering from cancer has pleaded India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj for help after her medical visa application was rejected by the Indian embassy.

Faiza Tanveer is suffering from a recurrent ameloblastoma, an oral tumour which is aggressive in nature.

pic.twitter.com/XlFGnwDRRC

— Faiza Tanveer (@FaizaTanveer8) July 7, 2017

I know kbi nhi roka but es wkt india visa nhi dy rahy i know ap lpg boht kind hain india or pakistan dono humsaya mulk nhi blky hum ak hain

— Faiza Tanveer (@FaizaTanveer8) July 8, 2017

Tanveer had planned to visit the Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital (IDCH) in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh state and has already paid Rs1 million for the treatment.

However, the Indian High Commission rejected her visa application, citing the deteriorating relations between the two countries, according to her mother Parveen Akhtar.

Nonetheless, Akhtar was told by the embassy officials that her daughter could get a medical visa if Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz wrote to Swaraj, requesting for it.

Akhtar has appealed to politicians in both the countries to help her her obtain a medical visa.



Earlier, the Ghaziabad hospital invited Tanveer and her mother for the treatment, leading to them requesting a 20-day medical visa.

The girl's mother said they had been told by local medical professionals that chemotherapy would be risky as the affected area was sensitive, given the proximity to the patient's ears, nose and eyes.

They were also informed that the Jinnah Hospital could accept their case but that Tanveer's eyeball would need to be removed, something the woman and her mother were not understandably ready to opt for.

According to Akhtar, medical treatment in India was cheaper than in the US and Singapore while the IDCH had estimated the cost to be around $20,000.

Last month, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan had issued visa to an ailing Pakistani child and his parents for an emergency heart treatment on Swaraj's intervention.

 

This article orginally appeared on Scoop Whoop.