Our Correspondent

LAHORE: I could not afford heart surgery for my ten-month daughter, who has a hole in her heart, but a peace initiative between Pakistan and India made it possible, said Syed Abdul Basir – who comes from a remote town, Qila Abdullah, near Chaman, Balochistan – prior to his departure to India early on Tuesday morning for treatment of his daughter, Muslima Bibi.

The free treatment is a result of the concerted effort of Aman Ki Asha – a peace initiative of the Jang Group of Newspapers Pakistan and Times of India Group, India, Rotary India Humanity Foundation (RIHF) and Rotary Pakistan.

I am just a schoolteacher and do not have enough resources to meet the expenses for heart surgery of my daughter, Muslima , he told The News while appreciating Heart to Heart project of Aman Ki Asha .

Basir said he was thankful to the Jang Group of Pakistan and Times of India as well as Rotary people for their support at this critical moment of his life. He went on to say that the project was, indeed, a gesture of friendship between both the neighboring countries. This also highlights how lives can be changed through this friendship.

It is pertinent to mention that, in September this year, five-year-old Aakash, five-year-old Atif and three-year-old Dharti from Sindh province had left for India with their parents for heart surgeries under the same initiative.

Aman Ki Asha , in February, 2011, had signed an agreement with Rotary India Humanity Foundation and Rotary Pakistan to provide free heart treatment, including surgery, to 200 under-privileged Pakistani children under the Heart to Heart initiative. So far, 25 children have undergone heart surgeries.

Under the Heart to Heart initiative, children suffering from congenital heart defects are sent to the world renowned heart institutions in India to undergo comprehensive treatment, including surgery.

Syed Abdul Basir said he came to know about the friendship initiative between Pakistan and India through Jang newspaper and was happy that his daughter would be provided treatment under the project.

Major (r) Mujib Aftab of Rotary Pakistan – who coordinated stay of Syed Abdul Basir here in Lahore and their subsequent departure to India – said they would first stay at Delhi while the heart surgery of Muslima Bibi would be performed at a hospital in Bangalore, India.