Bangalore: India has medical facilities on par with the best in the world and was the "nearest option for us", said Nadeem Sajjad, an agronomist, who has come to Bangalore all the way from Pakistan to get the open heart surgery done for his two-and-a-half year-old daughter Noor Fatima at the Naryana Hrudayalaya.

"Preliminary investigations have already begun and everything is being done at clockwork precision. I have full faith and confidence in the ability of Dr Rajesh Sharma (paediatric cardiac surgeon) and his team and the rest is left to Allah."

"Besides, I also have the best wises of the people of Pakistan as well as India", he said.

"My brother who is a nephrologist in Boston, after studying the case, said India would be the best and also the nearest option for the surgery after US and Europe. Besides, our doctor in Lahore, Dr Masood Sadiq felt the same and said the surgery should be done as soon as possible as the child had started developing negative impacts of the Multiple Verticular Septal Disease (VSD)," he said.

With this, the preparations for the visit began "but since there was no proper link between the two countries, the efforts were in vain and by May 2003 we were desperate. By mid-June however, we started exploring options to come to India via some other country but found even Dubai-Mumbai sector to be overloaded", he said.

Now, thanks to the resumption of Delhi-Lahore bus, they are in Bangalore with full of hopes on a journey they had been longing for.

The announcement of the resumption of bus link between India and Pakistan in the last week of June, brought hope to the distraught parents and "on July 7, a red letter day for us, the bus visa to India was issued by the Indian High Commission in Pakistan", the 35 year-old scientist said.

Sajjad, for whom it is the second visit to the country (first one was official in January 2001), feels "contrary to what the respective governments feel, there are very warm and strong vibes between the people of the two countries. Enmity and war can never offer any solution. It can be done only through mutual dialogue and communication. This can be the only bridge", he said.

Describing the reception accorded to the family on arrival at the Bangalore airport on July 13 as "very warm and emotional one", Sajjad was all praise for the airport authorities and the staff of Narayana Hrudalaya for the perfect planning.

"The people here are so friendly that my daughter who was slightly uncomfortable seeing strange faces, is now happily playing thinking it's home," he said.

For Tayyaba Nadeem, his 29 year-old wife, "all her apprehensions and fear of an enemy country with unfriendly people created by the media, has been laid to rest and she is even going out (of the hospital) confidently as if in Lahore", he said.

"People here are so warm and genuine but why this distance when we are so near. Even my relatives in Pakistan want to visit India and meet their friends here. I earnestly appeal to both the governments to understand the feelings of the people of both countries and put an end to this impasse through amity."

"I not only have faith in Allah and the ability of the doctors here but also the overwhelming goodwill of the people of India," he said.

The couple who have come all the way leaving their other two children, Tehsin Nadeem who is six years old and another daughter Mahrukh Nadeem who is just four years old, behind in Lahore under their parents' care, want to visit Delhi and stay there for a couple of days before leaving for Pakistan.

The operation date has not been fixed as yet "but it will be done sometime early next week", hospital sources said.

PTI