Pak national denied a visa, misses son's last moments

Chennai: Abdul Razzaq cursed his own name as he spoke over the phone from Bahrain. The Pakistani national, a jewellery designer based in Muharraq, could not accompany his critically ill son to Chennai, and be with him in his last moments, as he was denied a visa to India. Razzaq's son, 20-year-old son Abu Baker, died of multi-organ failure at a private hospital in the city on Friday following a complicated heart surgery.
Razzaq said officials at the Indian embassy in Manama told him that his name was similar to that of a terror suspect and hence the ministry of home affairs did not clear his application. "I made three applications on January 5. While those of my wife and son were processed, mine wasn't," he said. "They said my name matches with that of a terrorist. My repeated pleas to take into consideration my son's critical health went unheeded," Razzaq said.
An official at the Indian embassy in Manama told TOI that what Razzaq said "could be true". "The embassy doesn't give visas to Pakistanis directly. The applications are forwarded to the MHA," he said. "The ministry has its own data. The contentious name might be in the data base though the person may be different," he said. The official said the embassy was aware of Razzaq's case. "He has been in regular touch with us. Our senior visa officer wrote a mail to the MHA regarding the issue but that was not answered," he said.
At the hospital, Razzaq's wife Humera Shoukat, aided by former Indian National League MLA M G K Nizamudeen, has been arranging for Abu's final journey to Pakistan. Humera, whose family shifted to Toba Tek Singh district from Jalandhar after Partition, said her husband borrowed a lot of money to fund their son's operation. "The hospital has pegged the bill at $16,000. Back in Bahrain, my husband's financial condition is not that sound," Humera said. "The embassy could have handled the situation better. Politics should be placed above humanity," she said.
Humera said Abu, the youngest among seven siblings, had been battling a heart condition since his childhood. "He underwent two operations before this. The doctors said the surgery was successful, but he developed breathing issues after the operation," she said.
Dr R Anto Sahayaraj, who was part of the team led by Dr K M Cherian that operated upon Abu, said the case was of a "complex blue baby", a condition where an infant is born with congenital defect of the heart. The letter from the Bahrain health ministry recommending Abu for a surgery in India said he had "cardiac structural abnormalities". "Usually such conditions are treated by a series of surgeries before pre-school. But in Abu's case, the final surgery was unfortunately delayed by 10 to 15 years," he said.
Nizamudeen, whose Bahrain-based brother is Razzaq's friend, has been with the family since they arrived in Chennai on February 27. He said the hospital made arrangements to fly back Abu's body to Lahore via Doha.