SPORTS: Canada refuses visa to Pakistan kabaddi squad

ISLAMABAD: The Canadian High Commission has refused visas to Pakistani kabaddi squad without giving any reasons.

Pakistan has been isolated in the world of sports due to fragile law and order situation in the country and now western countries have started refusing visas to Pakistani players.

The kabaddi players were scheduled to appear in Canadian kabaddi tournament, slated to be held on Aug 16.

‘An international courier service managing Canadian visa applications has handed us back all the passports without any visa stamps,’ an official of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) told Dawn.

‘They [Canadian High Commission] did not give any reasons for refusal of visas,’ he said.

The official pointed out: ‘We submitted passports of the players and the officials on July 26 through the Sports Ministry after fulfilling all requirements but are at a loss why our applications were not entertained.’

Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani, when approached, said: ‘This is very sad that the players were refused visas by the Canadian High Commission. We will contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further action.’

‘We will take up the issue at the highest forum,’ the minister said. Zakir H. Sayed, former director general of the Pakistan Sports Board and sports commentator, said: ‘Our credibility around the world is now being suspected because our players go missing on international tours.

‘The ministry has to look into the level of tournament whether it was an international event or a local event,’ he said.

‘The ministry must swing into action to save future credibility of Pakistani sportsmen by investigating all the issues pertaining to visa,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit and the media head at the Canadian High Commission were not available for comments on the said issue.

Squad: Khan Abbas, Akhtar Pathan, Imtiaz Alam, Kashif Riaz, Musharraf Javed, Mohammad Mansha, Mohammad Irfan, Kashif Khan.

Officials: Mohammad Sarwar (secretary), Mohammad Asghar (manager), Mohammad Hussain (referee), Ahmad Bhatti (coach).