Today a new case of Indian hostility towards Pakistan surfaced, in which the authorities denied entry to a couple and their extremely sick child for medical treatment at a Jaipur hospital.
Labiha Jameel, a Pakistani woman, had reached Jaipur airport along with her husband of Kenyan descent for a surgery of their son at an Indian hospital.
The couple reached India to get urgent medical treatment for their child with a rare blood disorder after being invited by a German doctor. It had taken nearly a month for the child to stabilize enough for travel.
The Indian authorities, however, barred the couple and the extremely sick child to proceed further and humiliated them just because the mother was a Pakistani citizen.
Labiha’s husband said his wife was not even allowed to change the diaper of her son, who had been vomiting and bleeding all the way to the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
“As we left Mombasa on Thursday with the hope of finally getting our son treated both my wife and I could not even sleep cause of the excitement of relieving our son of this wretched disease. During the journey our son caught a high fever and diarrhoea with constant coughing that would lead to vomiting.
“Unfortunately, my wife and I hadn’t carried any extra clothes for ourselves so we had to endure the remainder of the journey in this state still hopeful that his treatment will begin soon. The time comes when we reached Jaipur, India with smiles on our faces until our hopes were immediately crushed when we reached the immigration counter. Upon looking at us they called us on the side and asked if any one of us was Pakistani, it was at this moment I knew things were not going to be good.”
“Pakistani passport holder should get out now! There is no entry for you here!” the family was told by the Indian authorities.
“How did you even make it here! How did you get this Visa!! Take their documents and check, how did the High commission of India even grant you a Visa!” an Indian official yelled.
“Upon seeing our passports, he [the official] saw that my son and I were Kenyan and said that we could proceed but my wife had to turn back. I could not leave my wife and even our son can’t survive without for even 5 minutes. We begged them to let us through as even the hospitals ambulance had come to pick us from the airport. ‘Are you going through or should I deport you as well!” Some young immigration subordinate yelled at me’,” the father of the sick child shared their ordeal.
“Deport? I got shocked as there was no grounds for being deported here. ‘You will deport me?’ I asked him with rage and upon seeing my anger he dispersed back into the crowd. The senior officer had called the entire immigration team to fill [out] our forms to send us back on the same plane we came with. My wife in tears and pleading with these heartless beings that call themselves humans as at this point, she just wanted to change our sons pamper and change his clothes but they would have none of it “Why are they still here! Get them out of here now, fill the forms quickly and send them back!”
“Jaipur is no entry zone for all Pakistanis!” the official said angrily.
Despite the fact that the family had a medical visa, they were ill-treated at the immigration counter and then forced to return on an airplane.
The family says they have “never seen such hate in life before”.
“Alas our forms were filled and passports were stamped and we were escorted back to the airplane by military as if we’d try to sneak our way in or something. Never in my life had I been humiliated in such a manner but what was more painful is that my son was not going to get the treatment he deserved and how everyone back home had struggled so hard to help us get here by way of contributions and prayers. This was a very sad moment.”
According to a family friend, the child is now awaiting blood transfusion at a Muscat hospital.
