Afghan President Hamid Karzai's wife gives birth in India

GURGAON, India, March 7 (UPI) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai's wife gave birth to the couple's third child at a hospital in India, officials said.

The baby girl was born Tuesday morning at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon, India, Khaama Press reported Friday.

"The baby girl was born around 9.30 am on Tuesday. Both the mother and her baby daughter are doing quite well," said Shaida Mohammad Abdali, the Afghan ambassador to India.

Karzai visited his wife and daughter briefly in New Delhi before heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, Abdali said.

"Both the president and the first lady enjoyed a few moments together with their newly born baby daughter," Abdali quoted by Times of India said.

"The president's two other beautiful children were born in Afghanistan. In this case, however, due to some predictable medical complication, the specialized doctor in Afghanistan advised that the baby be delivered in India given the availability of specialized medical facilities and personnel," Abdali said.

Karzai's wife was admitted to the hospital earlier this week and was scheduled to be released Friday.

"We're thankful to the hospital's excellent medical staff for their superb services, as well as to the hospital's management team. And we're grateful to the Indian government for their continued support with everything, including facilitating the hospitalization process," Abdali said.