Flow of Pakistan patients dries up |
Apparently, the chill in relations between India and Pakistan following the death sentence of Kulbhusan Jadhav and the beheading of two Indian soldiers on the border has breached the borders of military action into the space of medical tourism. Hospitals that get patient traffic from Pakistan say no visas have been issued to Pakistani patients for the last two months but none has been denied either. The applications have simply remained pending. Given the sensitivities of the matter, however, hospitals are reluctant to come on record on the matter or to take it up with the government at any level.Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, which gets substantial patient traffic from across the border, says it is severely hit. The usual Pakistan traffic of 30-40 patients per month is “down to single digits”. “There is a `go slow`, it seems. Initially patients were calling up asking for help in getting visas but now even that has reduced as the reality sinks in there. This has been the case since the Jadhav issue.Many hospitals are reluctant to speak. Sources in Max Healthcare say the hospital has a long list of patients who are in queue to travel to India for treatment but have been facing difficulties obtaining a visa. The Indian High Commission in Pakistan is not issuing visas at all.
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