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  India   Pakistani cricket fans will get 1,000 T20 visas

Pakistani cricket fans will get 1,000 T20 visas

| NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA
Published : Mar 8, 2016, 4:16 am IST
Updated : Mar 8, 2016, 4:16 am IST

A two-member security team from Pakistan arrives in India via the Attari-Wagah border Monday to review the security arrangements for Pakistan’s national team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2016. — PTI

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A two-member security team from Pakistan arrives in India via the Attari-Wagah border Monday to review the security arrangements for Pakistan’s national team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2016. — PTI

India has decided to grant 1,000 visas to Pakistani cricket fans to visit this country for the coming World Twenty20 tournament. The home ministry set the cap at 1,000 visas for Pakistani spectators after this was proposed by the external affairs ministry. The visas will be for five days to enable the Pakistanis to see at least two matches in India. A similar number had been fixed in the previous cricket tournament and the MHA expects more applications in the next few days. So far 250 visas have been applied for and are being granted to Pakistani fans, sources said, adding that the figure will swell in the coming days.

The government is asking for confirmed match tickets, entry and return travel details, reservation details for those coming by road, rail or air as well as hotel booking data and photo ID proof. The security agencies will keep a tight vigil to ensure each application is properly scanned and a tab kept on their entry and exit from India.

A team of Pakistani officials arrived in India on Monday to review security arrangements for its team during the tournament, whose qualifying matches begin on Tuesday.

A high-voltage India-Pakistan game is planned in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, on March 19, which has attracted some opposition in the state, including from ex-servicemen, over holding the match at the hill station.

Pakistan will play two matches in Mohali, Punjab — against New Zealand on March 22 and against Australia on March 25. The Pakistani team will also play a match in Kolkata on March 16. The semi-finals of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament will be held in New Delhi on March 30 and in Mumbai a day later. The final will be played in Kolkata on April 3.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi