India must give visas to Pakistan cricket fans as per ICC laws: FM Jilani

Islamabad: Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani highlighted that India is obligated to grant visas to Pakistan cricket fans for the ICC World Cup 2023 according to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regulations.

Visas for members of Pakistan's national cricket squad and personnel have already been delayed by India. The Pakistani team's participation in the competition is now definite after they were officially granted visas on Monday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had received a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) complaining about a visa delay.

The Pakistani team's pre-tournament preparations were further hampered by this delay because they were unable to meet in Dubai for a "team-bonding trip."

The foreign minister said, "As per ICC rules, providing visas to the fans is mandatory," during a news conference on Thursday in Islamabad.

He continued by saying that Pakistani supporters must obtain Indian visas and that the PCB will bring up the issue with the ICC.

It should be mentioned that the Pakistani squad was welcomed with open arms when it arrived in India on Wednesday to compete in the ICC World Cup 2023.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) posted the touching moments on its official social media accounts on Thursday.

Pakistan team took part in a training session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, on Thursday.

This was Pakistan’s first training session after arriving on Indian shores for the ICC World Cup 2023.

The majority of the Pakistan players took part in the session, which included captain Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali.

Pakistan will play two warm-up matches before beginning their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash in a mouth-watering October 14 contest in Ahmedabad.