Ashwin Krushnapaksha 5, Kaliyug Varsha 51114
Pakistani cricket fans may get multiple-city visas; India trying to operationalising new visa regime, even though 1283 Pakistanis who came to India during 2007 cricket series, are missing !
Why Indian Government has given permission to India-Pak Cricket Series when Pakistan has violated ceasefire and fired at Indian posts many times in last few months ? Also such cricket series give easy opportunity for Pakistan terrorists to enter in India ?
New Delhi : Pakistani visitors who want to watch the India-Pakistan cricket series here next month may be granted visas to visit all five cities where the teams are scheduled to play. India is trying to speedily operationalise the liberalised visa agreement, signed by both countries, in September, which entitles visas to be granted for travel to five cities in one visit. The matches are to be held in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi.
Ahead of the series, the Pakistan Cabinet had on Wednesday approved the liberalised visa agreement and both countries now have to only operationalise the agreement. A senior home ministry official said that a ‘special committee’ had been set up to study the modalities of granting visas to Pakistani citizens for the cricket series and the committee would be meeting on Monday.
"There is still a lot of time for the series to begin on December 25…the visa agreement could well be operationalised by then," the home ministry official said.
India is open to granting 5000 visas for Pakistani spectators. However, intelligence agencies have cautioned the government against handing out several visas to Pakistanis for the cricket series. The Intelligence Bureau expects a flood of visa applications in a short period for such a series, which may lead to inadequate checks on the visa-seekers.
There have been cases of Pakistani spectators going missing, after coming to watch the earlier cricket series in 2007 in India. "As on date, 1,283 Pakistani nationals remain missing after coming to India for various purposes on visas," a source said.
The home ministry is hence in a fix. I t has to tighten visa process, on the one hand, to ensure no undesirable person enters India on such visas but has to take cricket diplomacy forward, on the other.
Source : Economic Times
