‘They have a heart…’: Pakistani man seeks stay in India for children’s treatment

A Pakistani man, who came to India for life-saving medical treatment for his two children, has requested both governments to allow their treatment to be completed before they are forced to return home.

The family, from Hyderabad in Sindh, is among those impacted by the recent cancellation of SAARC visa privileges between India and Pakistan, following the Pahalgam terror attack. Follow Pahalgam terrorist attack news LIVE updates

The father of two Pakistani children, who spoke to Geo News on the phone, revealed that his 9- and 7-year-old children have been suffering from a congenital heart condition. The channel did not identify the father.

“They have a heart condition and their treatment was possible in New Delhi because of the advanced medical treatment here. But after the Pahalgam incident, we have been told to return to Pakistan immediately,” he said, adding, their surgery is scheduled for next week.

The hospital and doctors are cooperating with the family, but they have been told by police and foreign office to leave Delhi promptly, PTI added in its report.

“I appeal to the governments to allow the medical treatment of my children to be completed as we have spent around ₹10 million on our travel, stay and their treatment,” the report quoting the man as saying.

Meanwhile, over 100 Indian nationals in Pakistan returned to India on Thursday, PTI quoted unnamed officials in Lahore as saying.

“Some 105 Indian nationals left Pakistan for their homeland and 28 Pakistanis in India returned here on Thursday,” Express Tribune quoted a government official as saying.

Indian nationals return home through Wagah

On Friday, more Indian nationals returned home through the Wagah border near Lahore, while several Pakistanis also made their way back from India.

The Attari-Wagah crossing connects Amritsar in India with Lahore in Pakistan.

Among those at the border was a seven-member Pakistani Hindu family from Balochistan, who had travelled to attend a wedding in India.

After reaching Wagah, Akshay Kumar said they were informed by authorities that their visas had been cancelled by the Indian government.

“We were unaware of the development because of a journey to Lahore from Balochistan,” he said.

Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, most of them tourists in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.

In response, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met in New Delhi on Wednesday and, among other decisions, ordered the immediate closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari.

With PTI inputs