I-Day gift: Govt to grant medical visas to Pakiastani nationals in bona fide cases

External affairs Sushma Swaraj had recently said India would grant medical visa to those nationals from the neighbouring country whose applications were recommended by Pakistan Prime Minister’s Foreign Office Advisor Sartaj Aziz.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday India would grant medical visa to Pakistani nationals in genuine pending cases.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.(Sushil Kumar/HT Photo)

“On the auspicious occasion of India’s Independence day, we will grant medical visa in all bona fide cases pending with us. @IndiainPakistan,” Swaraj said in a tweet tagging the Indian High Commission in Pakistan.

Few weeks ago, Swaraj had said India would grant medical visa to those nationals from the neighbouring country whose applications were recommended by Pakistan Prime Minister’s Foreign Office Advisor Sartaj Aziz.

Aziz, however, is no longer the Pakistan PM’s foreign office adviser as he has been appointed as the deputy chairman of the planning commission.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Abbasi, 58, was sworn in as Pakistan’s 18th prime minister on August 1 after the Supreme Court disqualified the incumbent Nawaz Sharif for dishonesty following the Panama papers scandal.