Agency: Pakistan Cricket Board President Zaka Ashraf has expressed concern over the continuous delay in granting Indian visas to Pakistani fans and journalists.
The board has also written a letter to the ICC regarding the delay in getting visas. Pakistan has played two matches in the World Cup and won both. On October 14, Pakistan will face India in Ahmedabad. This is the most awaited match of the tournament.
However, looking at the current situation, the chances of Pakistan’s presence in the press box and stands are negligible.
Ashraf has met Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Cyrus Sajjad Qazi and has also requested to hold talks with the Indian Home Ministry in this regard. The PCB reminded the ICC and BCCI of its claim, saying, “The PCB is extremely disappointed that Pakistani fans and journalists are still facing confusion regarding visas to cover the ICC Cricket World Cup.”
Taking into account the news published by the Indian media about the safety of Pakistani players, the government has drawn attention to the safety of the players. The ICC has said that it is in contact with the BCCI to provide visas to 60 Pakistani journalists recognized by the ICC for coverage of the World Cup. However, it is still unclear how many fans will be allowed to cross the border. Speaking to an independent journalist in Pakistan, former PCB president Ehsan Mani said that the BCCI had guaranteed that there would be no problem for Pakistani residents to get visas.
Mani said, “Each host nation that hosts an ICC tournament signs an agreement to provide visas to teams, officials, journalists and fans. The ICC had already ensured that visas were provided before the start of the tournament. In the board meeting between 2019 and 2021, BCCI and ICC were asked about providing visas.
After that, both of them said that there will be no problem in this matter. It is an ICC program and all issues should have been resolved before the tournament started.” The team reached Hyderabad on 27 September.
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