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Pakistan’s veiled threat to India
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Khalid Khokar on Friday threatened not to send its national team to India next year for the FIH World Cup without assurance of fool-proof security and easy visa procurement.
Karachi: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Khalid Khokar on Friday threatened not to send its national team to India next year for the FIH World Cup without assurance of fool-proof security and easy visa procurement.
The PHF president told the media that during recent meetings with FIH President Narinder Batra in Dubai, he had made it clear that Pakistan team should be guaranteed top security during the World Cup.
"We had a very good meeting as we conveyed all our concerns to Batra and other FIH member boards. I have made it clear to them that we want assurances from FIH that we will face no problems with procurement of visa and will be given top security during the event," Khokar claimed to have told Batra.
"I made it clear that if we face similar problems that our junior team faced in getting visas than we will not send our team to India," he added. He said Pakistan had conveyed its reservations over the way the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had refused to issue visas for the national junior team despite the PHF applying on time for the Junior World Cup.
"Eventually our team couldn't go to India and that put our hockey back quite a lot. But this time we have told the FIH President we want complete assurances and security for the World Cup in India," he said.
The FIH recently confirmed Pakistan had qualified for next year's World Cup after it failed to qualify for the last World Cup and Olympic games.
Khokar said that he has also spoken to Batra about the launch of Pakistan Hockey League and sought global participation.
