By Sports Correspondent | From the Newspaper
KARACHI: The first-ever bilateral snooker series between Pakistan and Iran which was to commence at Tehran from Thursday was in jeopardy after Iranian consulate in the city refused visas on the pretext of lack of formalities.
“They (Iranian consulate) refused to entertain visa applications on the ground that they have not received clearance from their Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is mandatory,” a perturbed PBSA president, Alamgir Shaikh, said on Tuesday.
A three-member Pakistan team and an official were supposed to fly to the Iranian capital by Iran Air flight on Wednesday for a weeklong trip.The Tehran-bound players have arrived here from Islamabad after a short camp in Islamabad.Taking serious note, the PBSA has lodged a strong protest with their Iranian counterpart.Meanwhile, the PBSA official told Dawn that Silah, a spokesman for the Iranian cue sports federation, has expressed regret on the inconvenience and delay in getting visas. According to Alamgir, the Iranian assured to expedite the matter with their foreign affairs ministry and proposed new dates of March 23 to 30.
Iran Air operates once in a week on Wednesday from Karachi to Tehran.
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