ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is following up with India on the issuance of visas to Pakistani fans and journalists for the Cricket World Cup in India, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday.
Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup had hinged on security clearance from Islamabad, while visas for the Pakistan squad were only issued two days before their departure. Pakistani fans and journalists have been effectively banned from the World Cup after a failure to gain visas.
The PCB said this month it had lodged “formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans.”
On Saturday, it said the ICC had assured the board that it was in talks with Indian authorities on the visa issue.
“The ICC will keep trying to get visas for Pakistan fans and journalists,” the PCB said in a statement, citing the global cricket governing body.
“However, the final decision rests with the Indian government.”
Pakistan are on their first visit to India in seven years while only two of the 15-man squad had ever played in the country before this World Cup.
Only a handful of Pakistani fans attended the high-profile Pakistan-India clash at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-seater stadium on Oct 14, mostly expatriates from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Pakistan team faced a hostile crowd during the match, prompting the PCB to lodge a complaint with the ICC.
They protested over the “inappropriate behavior” of Indian fans toward the Pakistan players.
