World Cup: The 'silence' of the Indian authorities on the issuance of visas to Pakistani fans is disappointing the Pakistanis

 

By the way, it is not known when we will get a chance to see India and if we get to see cricket in India, then what is the matter.  But the problem is that till now the Indian visa has not been opened for Pakistanis.

 Zeeshan Ali, a citizen of Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, is a cricket fan and wants to go to India to watch the Cricket World Cup.

 Talking to the BBC, Zeeshan said that 'I have bought tickets for three matches in total, which include Pakistan vs India, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs Afghanistan.'

 Zeeshan, who wanted to watch the World Cup, was disappointed in those moments of waiting.

 I have booked a hotel but unfortunately visas for Pakistanis have not been opened yet.  Now, due to the wait, my own enthusiasm has also been decreasing.

 Remember that Cricket World Cup 2023 is going to start from today (October 5) in India.  The opening match of the Cricket World Cup, which will be held after four years, will be played today Thursday between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, while Pakistan's first match will be played against the Netherlands on Friday (October 6).  will play

 However, despite the start of the World Cup, hundreds of Pakistani cricket fans have not yet been issued visas by IndiaThousands of cricket fans from all over the world are coming to this tournament in India, the host country of the World Cup.

 According to Zeeshan, he has bought a ticket for the India-Pakistan match for 27 thousand rupees.

 As per the rules and regulations, if you wish to apply for an India visa, it is essential that you have purchased the match ticket on your card and also show the hotel booking confirmation for the visa.

 "Now there is hope every day that India's visa may come today, but now the hope is turning into hopelessness."

 Many Pakistanis like Zeeshan are waiting for when they will be able to go to India to watch the World Cup.

 This situation is faced not only by the common people of Pakistan, but also journalists covering sports have not been issued visas. 

Not granting visa is a violation of the rules.

Will Pakistanis get India visa to watch Cricket World Cup or not?

 The answer to this question is wanted by every Pakistani who wants to go and watch a cricket match in India.  But till now the answer to this question has not come from the Government of India, nor has the ICC been able to give a satisfactory answer to it.

 However, in a statement released by the Indian Cricket Board 'BCCI' a few days ago, it was definitely said that 'how many visas will be issued to Pakistani journalists and fans, no decision has been taken yet.  However, the number of visas is being worked on together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ICC.

 BCCI further said that 'We will issue visas to some Pakistani fans for World Cup matches.'

 However, after this short and unclear statement, there is complete silence from BCCI and Indian authorities.

 On the other hand, according to the company that receives visa applications and passports in Pakistan for Indian High Commission, they have not yet received any instructions from the Indian High Commission, due to which they have not yet received any customer's visa application.  are doing

 The Pakistan Cricket Board has also sent an email to the ICC on this matter, in which they have referred to the code of conduct of the country hosting the World Cup and said that Pakistani journalists  And not giving visas to fans yet is a 'rule violation'.

I was supposed to board a flight to India today but it was not possible.

 A sports journalist from a private TV station in Pakistan said that his preparations to cover the World Cup matches were complete, but he had canceled his hotel booking and flight as the process of getting a visa had not started.

 "I was supposed to leave for India today, but it was not possible."

 On the other hand, Maria Rajput, who belongs to a private channel of Pakistani media, while describing the same problem, said, "In the recent past, I remember that our Australian visa came in three days, while the ICC for Indian visa  India has not yet issued visas to journalists certified by the

 He further said that this time only the names of specific journalists from Pakistan have been approved by ICC.  There are many people who have YouTube channel or digital media connection and have wasted money by spending money on tickets.

 While commenting further on this issue, he said that 'Now you can imagine that journalists are being treated like this, so don't talk about the fans.'

 Talking about the role of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Foreign Office, he claimed that the concerned authorities are not pressing the issue.  We journalists had also given the list of journalists approved by ICC to the Foreign Office so that the issue could be raised at the government level, but four to five days have passed and no response has been received from there either.  .'

 On this issue, PCB spokesperson told BBC that this matter has been raised by PCB more than once with ICC and we have also emailed them two to three times.  .  However, we have now been told that the issue will be resolved in one to two days after which the Indian visa process for the journalists will be started.

 It should be noted that India's visa policy for cricket fans is still not clear and no specific time has been given as to whether visas will be issued to them or not.