Our Correspondent / NEW DELHI
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today waived the condition of a letter from Pakistan’s Foreign Adviser Sartaj Aziz for an ailing Pakistan occupied Kashmir, PoK resident to get a visa.
“Government is giving visa and no letter is required”, the Minister said.
Ms Swaraj said, the patient would be allowed to come to India as PoK is an integral part of the country and the region has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.
Osama Ali, a 24-year old resident of Rawalkot in PoK, has been diagnosed with a tumour in his liver and wants to seek treatment in Delhi.
The Minister said, Government is giving visa and no letter is required.
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POK is an integral part of India. Pakistan has illegally occupied it. We are giving him visa. No letter required.
Ali’s family has appealed to Ms Swaraj to revoke the requirement of a letter from Aziz for a medical emergency
visa.
On July 10, Swaraj had reiterated the need for a letter by Aziz and expressed dismay over the lack of courtesy shown
by her Pakistani counterpart, who she said had not even acknowledged her personal letter requesting for a Pakistani
visa for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother.
However, she assured Aziz that any Pakistani national seeking a medical visa to travel to India with his recommendation would be given one immediately.
In a series of tweets, Swaraj had said, she had her sympathies for all Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa for
their treatment in India. All that required is recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistan nationals.
She said, a visa application was pending for Indian national Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan. Ms Swaraj had wrote a personal letter to Mr Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. However, Mr Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge her letter.
Kulbhusan Jadhav, was allegedly arrested by Pakistan in the restive Balochistan province last year. He has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism.