Pulwama Attack: Home Ministry Grants Visa to Pakistan Players Coming For Delhi Shooting World Cup

National Rifle Association of India's Secretary Rajiv Bhatia confirmed Pakistan shooters visa approval & participation in the upcoming Shooting World Cup in Delhi.

Secretary of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) Rajiv Bhatia on Monday confirmed that India would be granting visa to the Pakistani players to participate in the forthcoming Shooting World Cup, scheduled to be New Delhi later this month. Bhatia said that the Indian Home Ministry has approved their visa and forwarded it to the High Commission and Islamabad.

“Home Ministry has given its approval and it has been now forwarded to High Commission and Islamabad. On Friday, I got a call from the Indian High Commission and they confirmed the names of the shooters again and hopefully today the Visa will be granted,” Bhatia told ANI.

The secretary further informed that one coach and two Pakistani rifle shooters are expected to arrive on February 20 and asserted that Home Ministry is in no denial on their visa.

“They wrote to us that they are scheduled to come on 20th (February). They wrote to us that we will get flight details once visa is granted. Visa will not be denied. Home Ministry is very clear about it so there is no denial on that,” he said.

Shooting World Cup 2019 is slated to be held from February 20 to 28 in New Delhi. The tournament holds significance as there are 16 Tokyo 2020 Olympics quota places up for grabs.

At least 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed when a militant drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

There have been several form of protests in the sports world in the aftermath of the attack.The Cricket Club of India, an affiliated unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has covered a portrait of former cricketer and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan at its headquarters in Mumbai while India’s tour to Pakistan for the Davis Cup Group 1 tie is also likely to be cancelled due to the terror strike.