Swaraj assists Pakistan-origin woman on humanitarian grounds
A Pakistani woman reached out to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter in order to receive a medical visa to India. This visa was required for the woman's husband to undergo a liver transplant in Apollo Hospital, Chennai. Using her discretion, the MEA Minister directed the Indian embassy to issue visas to the couple without prior referral from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
About Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj is the current Minister of External Affairs of India; she was elected on 26th May, 2014. A former Supreme Court lawyer, Swaraj is the second Indian woman to be Minister of External Affairs after Indira Gandhi. In her political career, Swaraj has been elected 7 times as a Member of Parliament and 3 times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Humanitarian
In her on-going regime as the Minister of External Affairs of India, Sushma Swaraj is hailed for her urgency in extending assistance to distressed citizens of the country and prioritizing their lives over signing documents and framing foreign policies.
Jobless Indians trapped in Saudi Arabia
In October 2016, thousands of Indians in Saudi Arabia lost their jobs due to low oil prices and budget cuts imposed by the Saudi Arabian government. For some Indians, it was a struggle to purchase food. The Ministry of External Affairs under Sushma Swaraj rescued the Indian workers that were trapped without jobs and wanted to come back, and ensured their safe return.
Swaraj assures safety of 19 Pakistani girls
On 27th September, 19 Pakistani girls came to India to be a part of the Global Youth Peace Festival at Chandigarh. Surgical strikes carried out by the Indian army made their return an apprehensive situation. Sushma Swaraj ensured that the girls were given extra security and also assured their safe return to their home country.
Swaraj assists Pakistan-origin woman on humanitarian grounds
A Pakistani woman reached out to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter in order to receive a medical visa to India. This visa was required for the woman's husband to undergo a liver transplant in Apollo Hospital, Chennai. Using her discretion, the MEA Minister directed the Indian embassy to issue visas to the couple without prior referral from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Protocol
For individuals originating from Pakistan, it is necessary to obtain visa clearances from the department of visa clearance, Ministry of Home Affairs. This was excused by Sushma Swaraj on humanitarian grounds.
Reaching out to individuals
In April 2015, Sushma Swaraj helped evacuate a girl reportedly under house arrest from Johannesburg, South Africa. In May 2016, Indian woman in Berlin, Germany who lost her passport and money was helped by Swaraj for the same. At the time of the Nepal earthquake, Sushma Swaraj was swift in responding to individual concerns on Twitter apart from providing help at the bureaucratic level.
Sushma Swaraj seeks report of Indian businessman arrested in USA
In yet another case, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought a report from the Indian Ambassador in the US on the arrest of a Baroda-based businessman. 53-year-old Radhakrishnan was arrested at the Grand Forks International Airport for allegedly making a bomb-threat by telling a travel agent that there was an explosive in his bag. His wife had reached out to the minister on Twitter.
5 Indians released from Togo jail: Sushma Swaraj
Five employees of an Indian Merchant Navy firm were jailed in Togo since 2013 for their suspected involvement in a piracy attack off the coast of Togo. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced their release in a tweet, saying, "We have secured the release of 5 Indians from Kerala jailed in Togo. Good work by Indian mission in Acra and consulate in Togo."
3 Indians died in UAE, Sushma Swaraj directs probe
The Indian mission in the United Arab Emirates has been directed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to follow up the investigation regarding the death of 3 Indians during a fire in a diesel tank. On Twitter, she described the cause of death to be suffocation in a diesel tank fire in Sharjah. The Sharjah Police launched an investigation to rule out criminal acts.
