In a series of tweets, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj lashed out at Pakistan’s foreign affairs head, Sartaj Aziz, on Monday for “not showing the courtesy to acknowledge” her letter urging him to grant a visa for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother, according to media reports.
Jadhav, 46, a retired Indian navy officer, was arrested by Pakistan last year on charges of spying and has been sentenced to death. Swaraj tweeted that she sympathized with Pakistani nationals seeking Indian visas for medical treatment, stressing that they are normally granted immediately after being recommended by Aziz.
She tweeted: “I assure Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa with a recommendation from Mr Sartaj Aziz, we will issue the visa immediately.”
Swaraj’s tweets were apparently intended to clear the air after Pakistani media reports claimed that the Indian embassy in Pakistan denied a medical visa to a Pakistani cancer patient, Faiza Tanveer, who has an aggressive tumor in her mouth. Tanveer had urged Swaraj to help her in series of tweets.
Swaraj, who has around 8.5 million followers on Twitter, said, “All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistani nationals. I see no reason why he should hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country.”