External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday criticised her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz for not replying to her letter seeking a visa for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother, Avantika. Jadhav, who was arrested from Pakistan’s Balochistan province in March 2016, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.

“I wrote a personal letter to Mr Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her [Avantika Jadhav] visa to Pakistan,” Swaraj said in a series of tweets. “However, Mr Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter.”

On Monday, she also addressed the allegations that New Delhi had denied a medical visa for the treatment of a cancer patient in India. “I have my sympathies for all Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa for their treatment in India,” Swaraj said on Twitter.

Faiza Tanveer, 25, is suffering from a recurrent ameloblastoma, an oral tumour. She had sought a medical visa to visit the Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

However, her visa was denied by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad citing the “deteriorating relations” between the two countries, The Express Tribune quoted her mother as saying on Saturday. The embassy officials had told Tanveer that if Aziz was to write a letter to Swaraj seeking medical visa for her, it would be granted.

“I am sure Mr Sartaj Aziz also has consideration for the nationals of his country,” Swaraj said. “All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistan nationals. I see no reason why should he hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country.”