Indian embassy to open special visa offices for Pakistan fans by AFP

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Event:

Pakistan in India 2004/05

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DateLine: 21st February 2005

 

India said it would open special visa offices in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi to process thousands of fans who want to travel across the border for a historic cricket tour.

 

"The High Commission has put in place arrangements to facilitate timely issuance of visas to those desirous of witnessing cricket matches in India," an embassy statement said on Monday.

 

Pakistan arrive in New Delhi on February 28 to play three Tests and six one-day games on their first tour of their traditional South Asian rivals for six years.

 

The special visa counters, which will be set up in local hotels and cultural centres, will start functioning in eastern Lahore from Thursday.

 

"The first will open in Lahore from February 25-27 and then in the second week of March while a visa camp in Karachi will open in the first half of March," the statement said.

 

India last month said it planned to issue 10,000 visas to Pakistanis who want to watch the cricket series.

 

Almost the same number of Indians visited Pakistan when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan last year, their first visit to Pakistan since 1989.

 

That tour revived bilateral sporting ties which were severed in 2000 when the rival neighbours came close to their fourth war.

 

"All those holding valid tickets for a particular match will be considered for a visa," the statement said, adding that visas would be issued within 24 hours of applications being made.

 

The Test matches are scheduled for Mohali, Calcutta and Bangalore while one-day games will be played in Cochin, Vishakapatnam, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur and New Delhi.

 

The final itinerary was announced on Sunday.

 

The announcement was delayed after Pakistan refused to play a Test in Ahmedabad over security fears. Pakistan finally agreed to play the Test in Calcutta and an unscheduled one-day game in Ahmedabad.

 

Many of the Pakistani fans are planning to visit Mohali, which is close to the border city of Lahore.

 

The Pakistan Cricket Board said it would start selling tickets through agents in a couple of days.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)