(By Khalid Hasan, Daily Times- 27 July 2008) WASHINGTON: The Pakistan government has decided to take responsibility for Ahmed Faraz’s hospitalisation as well as expenses incurred on his return to Pakistan, which could come as early as next week.
This was confirmed to Daily Times by Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, who made personal efforts to get the decision approved at the highest levels of government. However, several uncertainties remain, Faraz’s delicate condition being the principal one. While his son Shibli Faraz, who flew in from Pakistan a fortnight ago, and the rest of the family would like to take him home as soon as his doctors permit, it is difficult to say when that might be.
Next week looks like a possibility, but there is no certainty to that either. Ideally, Faraz’s family would want him to be on the non-stop Toronto-Islamabad PIA flight, but that would require Canadian visas for both father and son, something they do not have. However, the Canadian embassy ought to be willing to do the necessary on humanitarian grounds. There is no Canadian consulate in Chicago, so the application will either have to be made in New York or Washington. The fate of the application Faraz made for a Canadian visa in Washington is not known.
One idea thrown up by some that Faraz should be taken home in Prime Minister Gilani’s special PIA plane, is not doable for a number of reasons. Gilani flies back on the afternoon of July 30 from Washington, not to Islamabad but Colombo. Even if he agrees to have Faraz on board, the poet will have to be disembarked at Manchester. In the end, it all depends on Faraz’s condition, which shows no sign of improvement.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\07\27\story_27-7-2008_pg7_34
