Pakistan Scrabble Association alleges visa delays, MEA fires back calling it 'misleading'

Representational Image (Pic: AFP)

In a rather interesting turn of events, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday swiftly dismissed reports suggesting that Pakistan's players were denied visas for the upcoming Asia Cup Youth Scrabble Championship and Delhi Cup in India.

Branding the claims as 'incorrect' and 'misleading', the MEA confirmed that 12 visas had been issued to the Pakistani team on November 7, well within the time frame required for travel.

Notably, these visas included those for the defending Asia Cup champion and the reigning World Youth Champion.

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The confusion seems to have stemmed from earlier reports suggesting that the Indian High Commission had taken a very selective approach to visa issuance, denying the most number of Pakistani Scrabble players entry for the Asia Cup Youth Scrabble Championship and Delhi Cup. These events are highly anticipated, with Pakistan holding both the World Youth and Asian Youth Scrabble titles.

Tariq Perez, Director of the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA), took the opportunity to voice his team's grievances. According to Perez, despite submitting their visa applications two months ahead of time, the Indian High Commission allegedly delayed processing and issued several visas too late for players to attend the tournaments.

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The recent developments have pushed the already fragile sporting relations between India and Pakistan to an all-time low. The ongoing standoff, particularly surrounding the Indian men's cricket team's participation in next year's Champions Trophy, has intensified tensions between the two nations.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially communicated to both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that India will not be sending its ODI team to Pakistan for the tournament. This decision, expectedly, has led to a significant diplomatic rift, with the PCB adamant about hosting the entire tournament on home soil. The Pakistan board, which holds the hosting rights for the prestigious tournament, has rejected the idea of a hybrid model - where India could play their matches at a neutral venue, such as the UAE.