Pakistani couple arrive in India for 4-month-old son's treatment
NEW DELHI - A Pakistani couple who were granted a medical visa to come to India for their 4-month-old son's heart treatment have arrived in the country.
Kanwal Sadiq and his family arrived at a specialist hospital in Noida, about 30 kilometers from New Delhi, on Monday night after the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj intervened in the case, which had become a hot topic on social media.
Sadiq, whose son Rohaan has a hole in his heart, had previously been denied a medical visa by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad due to the ongoing tensions between the two countries.
Last month, he brought the matter to Swaraj's attention on Twitter.
"Why my bud suffers for medical treatment!! Any answers Sir Sartaaj Azeez (the Pakistani government's foreign affairs adviser) or Ma'am Sushma," he tweeted.
Swaraj replied: "No. The child will not suffer. Please contact Indian High Commission in Pakistan. We will give the medical visa."
The infant will be operated on at the private hospital in Noida by a team of heart surgeons on June 15, doctors have said.
The tension revolves around the sovereignty of Kashmir, which is claimed by both countries.
On Monday, two Indian two paramilitary troopers were wounded in a grenade attack, police said.
The attack was carried out by suspected militants in the town of Tral of Pulwama district, about 41 kilometers south of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Though government forces launched a search for the militants, no one was arrested. Reports said the culprits escaped after the attack.
Xinhua
(China Daily 06/14/2017 page11)
