India deny Pakistani team visas for Asian Netball Championship

The Indian government has denied visas to the Pakistan women's netball team for the Asian Championship which will take place in Bengaluru, India from October 18 to 27.

Along with Pakistan, Iran has also suffered from the same fate which has meant that both the teams will not participate in the upcoming 13th Asian Netball Championship 2024.

The Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) has also lodged a formal protest with the Asian Netball Federation and World Netball, expressing strong objections over the matter.

The draws for the 13th Asian Netball Championship 2024 have also been announced, featuring 12 teams, after Pakistan and Iran's withdrawal. The teams are divided into two groups with Group A including Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Philippines, Maldives, Japan. and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Group B has Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Iraq and Bahrain.

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for the national women's netball team to participate in the 13th Asian Netball Championship 2024.

However, Pakistan Netball Federation President Mudassir Arain has revealed that despite submitting their Indian visa application three weeks ago, they received an email from Indian Netball Federation's General Secretary, Vijender Singh, yesterday, informing them of Pakistan's withdrawal from the event.

The email cited that Pakistan and Iran's participation was cancelled because the Indian government did not issue the required NOCs for the teams.

“The team's preparations have been severely disrupted, and we've incurred significant financial losses of millions of rupees due to hiring a foreign women's coach and training in London. We had also identified talented British-Pakistani athletes, including Haroona Zaman, Leya Shah Israh, Safeeyah, and Sadia Hussain, for the squad. These national players, along with others, are extremely disappointed following the receipt of this email,” Arain said.

World Netball’s president Liz Nicholl on Friday wrote to India’s foreign minister Jaishankar, India’s Sports Ministry and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that he has been informed by the Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) that they have been excluded from the upcoming Asian Netball Championship later this month due to lack of progress in the visa application.

“I understand that the visa process requires an NOC from the Indian Foreign Ministry and India’s Ministry of Sports and this has not been forthcoming,” Nicholl wrote.

“The PNF has made all necessary arrangements for their team’s participation including securing accommodation, flights and transportation. They have applied for visa and hired a foreign coach and the team is currently training in London under this coach’s supervision,” Nicholl’s letter said, a copy of which is available with Nukta.

“We ask that the Indian government considers issuing these visas as a matter of urgency. The Asian Championships are a very important part of our international playing calendar and it’s a great honour that the championship is being held for the first time in your country,” World Netball chief said.

Visa issues have affected other sports as well

Other sports in Pakistan have also faced similar issues when it comes to visa. Recently, three Pakistan cueists, Ahsan Ramzan, Muhammad Hasnain and Muhmmad Hamza Illyas were forced to pull out of the IBSF World Junior Snooker Championships after their NOCs from the ministry of external affairs arrived just 48 hours before the start of the tournament. The delay forced the trio and four officials to withdraw from the week-long event in Bengaluru.

India had also granted visas to Pakistan's cricket team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after lengthy delays. The delayed clearance disrupted Pakistan's tournament preparations, prompting the cancellation of their Dubai training camp ahead of the tournament.