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The Rediff Special/M D Riti

AND allow us to have one too.

That is the prayer of six Pakistani toddlers to the Indian high commission in Islamabad. They are scheduled to undergo emergency cardiac surgery at the Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Unfortunately, with the heightened hostilities between India and Pakistan, New Delhi has stopped issuing visas to Pakistanis.

Shabeer Hussain, at three months, Aslam Mohammed Hasheem, six months, Isha, eight months, and three other babies need urgent help. The kind that is available at select medical centres around the world -- and the nearest of them is in India.

"Two weeks ago," says Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Hrudayalaya's founder-director, "a parent told us they had stopped issuing visas. It is most unfair that these little children should suffer because two countries have political differences. I wish your readers would write to the ministry and request them to grant the children visas."

On an average, Hrudayalaya used to operate on at least one child from Pakistan every week. This trend had begun a couple of months ago, after it hired 41-year-old cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr Rajesh Sharma, who has a big fan following across the border.

Dr Sharma's popularity among Pakistani parents had started when he was with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi -- to be precise, three years ago, when a 21-day-old Pakistani baby with a serious heart defect was brought to him.

As paediatric cardiac surgical care is hard to come by and very expensive in Pakistan, the baby was referred to a doctor in the United States, who, in turn, passed it on to Dr Sharma. To cut a long story short, Dr Sharma operated on the baby successfully. That led to more Pakistanis seeking him out till, today, many across the border look upon him as their saviour.

A product of the AIIMS, who trained at Boston and Miami in paediatric surgery, Dr Sharma says he operated on more than 50 Pakistani children while in New Delhi. "I never expected them [Pakistani patients] to follow me to Bangalore," he says. "The hospital expenses may not be greater, but the travel certainly is."

Dr Sharma's fans normally get in touch with him by email. The consultation and scheduling of surgery are all done in cyberspace. Not surprising, then, that Hrudayalaya (phone: +91-80-7835000) has become a favourite with Pakistanis.

"I have no contact with the Indian high commission in Islamabad," Dr Sharma clarifies. "I just verify that the cases are genuine and then give them letters saying they need medical care and should be permitted to come down to India to see me."

And that used to suffice -- till last month.

On an earlier visit to the hospital, this correspondent had met several of Dr Sharma's Pakistani patients and their parents. Mohammed Aslam, a moneychanger from Karachi, had flown to Mumbai. From there, he travelled with his wife and son to Bangalore by train, on second-class tickets.

"Our son Umair is just 12 months," Aslam's wife Salma said. "He is our whole life! We had heard so much back home in Pakistan about Dr Sharma that we decided he was the man to trust with Umair's life."

Izhar Khan, another parent, considered himself very lucky to have reached Bangalore with his one-year-old boy Usman before India's hard decision. "We are grateful to God that we got visas," he said.

"These people are no different from us," says Dr Sharma. "They are friendlier than many of my Indian patients... more grateful for any help I give them. When they find we treat them as well or better than we do our own countrymen, they are so delighted."

Does he give special attention to his cross-border patients? "I make sure I operate on them as soon as possible," Dr Sharma says. "I know it is expensive and difficult for them to stay long in a strange place."

For now, however, all that Dr Sharma can do is pray for the lives of his six little patients across the border. They need attention, he says, and quickly.

Have a heart, India.

The Rediff Specials