With just four days to go for the India vs Pakistan World Cup clash, Indian government has finally begun approving visas for Pakistani journalists. Indian embassy in Islamabad contacted Pakistani scribes willing to cover the IND vs PAK clash on Oct 14 in Ahmedabad.
It comes a day after, Pakistan Cricket Board lashed out at the Indian government. PCB pleaded with the Pakistan Foreign Secretary to take the matter with Indian home ministry in New Delhi.
Even though ICC ODI World Cup began on Oct 5, Pakistani journalists did not receive their visas. Pakistan have already completed two of their matches.
It is the host nation’s obligation to provide necessary visas to all journalists and fans for World Cup. With the mega IND vs PAK clash on October 14 and no clarity on visa, many Pakistani journalists had their travel plans on hold.
“PCB is extremely disappointed to see that journalists from Pakistan and fans are still facing uncertainty about obtaining an Indian visa to cover Pakistan games in ICC World Cup 2023.
“In the meantime, PCB has again reminded ICC and BCCI of their respective obligations and terms and conditions stipulated in the Host agreement to guarantee visas for fans and journalists of participating teams,” PCB said in a statement on Tuesday.
Why is it taking so long?
Unlike other countries, visas for Pakistani citizens in India and vice versa are not that easy. As around 60 journalists and hundreds of fans wait to travel to India for IND vs PAK clash, all of the applicants will be under close scrutiny. All the applications will be thoroughly vetted by the home, external affairs and sports ministries. The reason is that Pakistan is on India’s prior reference category (PRC) list.
Pakistan have already played the Netherlands without any supporters. The sole Pakistani supporter to get a visa is Chacha Bashir, who is a resident of Chicago, USA. Waqar Younis and Zainab Abbas — who are on ICC’s commentary panel, also received visas. However, Abbas, who is a sports presenter for Star Sports, has left the country after an Indian advocate filed an FIR against her for derogatory remarks against Hindus back in 2018.
ICC has directed the BCCI to sort out the visa issue with Indian home and foreign ministry at the earliest ahead of India vs Pakistan clash.
“The issuance of visas is an obligation of our host (BCCI). And they are working diligently on it with our full support. Every possible effort is being made to resolve this issue,” an ICC spokesperson to PTI.
Pakistan World Cup Schedule
| Date | Day | Team 1 | Team 2 | City | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6 | Friday | Pakistan | Netherlands | Hyderabad | Pak won by 81 runs |
| Oct 10 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Hyderabad | Pak won by 6 wickets |
| Oct 14 | Saturday | India | Pakistan | Ahmedabad | India won by 7 wickets |
| Oct 20 | Friday | Australia | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Aus won by 62 runs |
| Oct 23 | Monday | Pakistan | Afghanistan | Chennai | Pak lost by 8 wickets |
| Oct 27 | Friday | Pakistan | South Africa | Chennai | Pak lost by 1-wicket |
| Oct 31 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Kolkata | Pak won by 7-wickets |
| Nov 4 | Saturday | New Zealand | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Pakistan won by 21 runs via DLS |
| Nov 11 | Saturday | England | Pakistan | Kolkata | 2:00 PM |
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