India on Monday stepped up heat on the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj complaining that Pakistan was yet to give a visa to his mother to meet the Indian national sentenced to death for alleged spying.
She also insisted that all Pakistani nationals seeking medical treatment in India should get their applications vetted by Islamabad's foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz and wondered why he was not doing it.
In a series of tweets, the minister said Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Affairs Advisor, should not hesitate to write recommendation for Pakistanis seeking medical treatment in India.
The remarks come amid media reports in Pakistan that the Indian Embassy in Islamabad had rejected the medical visa application of a 25-year-old Pakistani tumour patient who was to travel to India for treatment.
Faiza Tanveer had sought Sushma Swaraj's intervention and help to "save my life".
"I have my sympathies for all Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa for their treatment in India," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
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"I am sure Mr.Sartaj Aziz also has consideration for the nationals of his country," she said.
"All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistan nationals."
Sushma Swaraj said that she saw no reason why Aziz should hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country.
The Minister raised the issue of Jadhav and said she had personally written to Aziz regarding the visa to Avantika Jadhav who wanted to meet her son languishing in an unknown military prison in Pakistan.
"We also have a visa application pending for an Indian national, Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan, against whom they have pronounced a death sentence," Sushma Swaraj said.
"I wrote a personal letter to Mr. Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. However, Mr. Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter," she said.
Jadhav was said to have been arrested from Pakistan's restive Balochistan province in March 3, 2016. Pakistan claimed that he was involved in spying and terror activities in Balochistan, a charge rejected by India. He was convicted in April by a Pakistani military court and sentenced to death.
In May this year, India moved the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which then stayed the execution pending a final decision by the court.
In May this year, India had said that only a letter of recommendation by Pakistan Foreign Affairs Advisor Aziz will enable a Pakistani national to get a medical visa for India.
--IANS
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