KARACHI, Jan 22: A health conference aimed at cementing the friendly and cultural relations among South Asian countries will miss a number of anesthesiologists and critical-care specialists from India as the medical professionals had been advised by the Indian government not to visit Pakistan, said the organisers on Thursday.

Giving details of the forthcoming SAARC Association of Anesthesiologist Congress, senior officials of the organising committee at a press conference on Thursday said that 500 to 600 “giants of anesthesiology and critical care” from Pakistan and 18 other countries, including the SAARC ones, without the Indians had confirmed their participation in the 8th biennial scientific conference.

Accompanied by the president and secretary of the congress organising committee, Dr Akhter Aziz Khan and Dr Zia Akhter, respectively, the chairperson of the scientific programmes of the conference, Prof Saeeda Haider, lamented that against their expectations and relevant facilitations, about 150 delegates from India, who had expressed their willingness to attend the four-day international conference scheduled to begin on Feb 5, would not attend the moot.

Because of the tension between Pakistan and India after the recent Mumbai attacks, they had decided to stay away from the conference on the advice of the Indian government communicated through the Indian association of anesthesiologists, the officials stated, adding that the Indians intending to fly from their country had been asked not to visit Pakistan for the time being.

The newsmen were told that the Sindh chief minister, the health minister and the nazim of Karachi had consented to be chief guests at different sessions of the congress.

Highlighting the role of the proposed congress with the theme of ‘The expanding role of anesthesiologists’, Dr Akhter Aziz Khan and Dr Zia Akhter said the South-Asian Association for Regional Cooperation provided a platform for the people of the region to work together for the socio-economic development of the region in a friendly and befitting manner.

Answering questions, the patron of the congress, Dr Tipu Sultan, said the specialty of anesthesiology was not being taken up duly in the public sector health facilities, particularly in the rural areas, and that was why patients were brought to the urban centres like Karachi.