Visa for Jadhav's mom: In blistering tweets, Swaraj slams Sharif's aide Sartaj Aziz
Shailaja Neelakantan| TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Jul 10, 2017, 02.35 PM IST
HIGHLIGHTS
- Swaraj hit out at Aziz for not having "the courtesy even to acknowledge" her letter urging a visa be granted to Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife
- Also, Swaraj as much as said it's Aziz's fault that Pakistanis in need of urgent medical attention are unable to come to India
Sushma Swaraj
NEW DELHI: Union minister
Sushma Swaraj on Monday used strong words to hit out at
Pakistan's foreign affairs head
Sartaj Aziz for not having "the courtesy even to acknowledge" her letter to him urging he grant a visa to
Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother.
Jadhav is the Indian national on death row in Pakistan.
External affairs minister Swaraj's comments were primarily intended to clear the air after Pakistani media reports last week said that India has refused medical visas to people from that country,
On Twitter, Swaraj as much as said that it's Aziz's fault that Pakistanis in need of urgent medical attention are unable to come to India. She assured Pakistanis that India is happy to grant medical visas and hoped Aziz "has consideration for the nationals of his country".
Read this story in Gujarati
The external affairs minister pointed to recently-changed rules that stipulate Pakistanis wanting a visa for urgent medical treatment must get a letter from Aziz. "But I assure Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa with a recommendation from Mr.Sartaj Aziz, we will issue the visa immediately," said Swaraj.
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I have my sympathies for all Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa for their treatment in India. /1
5:40 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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I am sure Mr.Sartaj Aziz also has consideration for the nationals of his country. /2
5:41 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistan nationals. /3
5:44 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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I see no reason why should he hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country. /4
5:45 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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Then, Swaraj delivered her coup de grace.
The minister talked about how India too has a visa application pending "for an Indian national Mrs. Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan". It takes a beat to realise she's talking about the mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian national sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan.for allegedly "spying".
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We also have a visa application pending for an Indian national Mrs.Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan /5
5:46 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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against whom they have pronounced a death sentence. /6
5:46 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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Swaraj said just like the letters Aziz must write for the medical visas, she, too wrote a "personal letter" to him for the grant of Avantika Jadhav's visa.
"However, Mr. Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter," she said.
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I wrote a personal letter to Mr.Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. /7
5:48 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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However, Mr.Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter. /8
5:49 AM - 10 Jul 2017
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Top Comment
Kudos to Mrs. Swaraj for her transparency about the situation. Sadly, Pakistan does not care for it's own citizens even to write a letter of recommendation for a medical visa. What happened to their ... Read MoreColdFlak
Pakistani media reported last week that the Indian embassy in Pakistan rejected the visa application of a woman suffering from cancer who was to come to India for treatment. The woman, Faiza Tanveer, in several tweets over the past couple of days, urged Swaraj to intervene. It appears Swaraj has.
6 Jul
Faiza Tanveer @FaizaTanveer8
@SushmaSwaraj
pakistani hun sufrring in ameloblastoma . India ana cahti hun or half payment b kr di hai please mam save my life 03355255999
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We haven't denied visa. You just need a recommendation letter from Advisor Sartaz Aziz to EAM Smt. Sushma Swaraj. Visa will be issued.
10:18 AM - 9 Jul 2017