India grants three Pakistanis medical visas

Asif requires liver transplant, scheduled to visit a Chennai hospital

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated, on Wednesday, that three more medical visas for Pakistanis have been issued.

Pakistan nationals Fatima Naeem (13 yrs), Mansoor Bhagani and Shehab Asif have sought medical visa for their treatment in India. We have approved their visa. @IndiainPakistan

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) December 20, 2017

She tweeted: “Pakistan nationals Fatima Naeem (13 years), Mansoor Bhagani and Shehab Asif have sought medical visa for their treatment in India. We have approved their visa.”

According to a report published in The Hindu, Asif requires a liver transplant and is scheduled to visit a Chennai hospital.



The issue of Indian obstruction in the issuance of medical visas has been highlighted repeatedly in 2017.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal has said in the recent past that New Delhi was playing politics over humanitarian issues. “India is continuing to impose a condition on Pakistani patients seeking medical treatment in India that they must possess a reference letter from the foreign minister to be granted a visa,” he told reporters at a press conference in November. “The Indian government’s attitude towards these patients is inhuman and a tactic to create more difficulties for them,” he added.



According to previous reports in Indian media, the new policy of issuing medical visas for Pakistanis is in line with unspecified visa restrictions imposed by New Delhi after Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was given death sentence by a special military court in Pakistan for “espionage and subversive activities” in the country.