ECB i.e. The England And Whales Cricket Board had also intervened in the matter. That did not seem to count for much. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harish Kotian" <har...@accessindia.org.in> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 7:46 AM Subject: Re: [AI] Pakistan blind cricketers denied UK visa
Hi I suppose, there are 3 ways to solve this impass. 1 Investigate the deficiencies in tha application and represent fresh visa 2 If it is a case of mindless refusal, all the participating countries should boycott that country totally and if feasable organise the tournament in an another country. 3 The board for the blind should get affiliation with their regular cricketing bodies and thereby apply pressure. Harish Kotian ----- Original Message ----- From: "Subramani L" <lsubram...@deccanherald.co.in> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 4:33 PM Subject: Re: [AI] Pakistan blind cricketers denied UK visa > This is plain stupid. What do they want in order to feel satisfied? DO > they want signatures on their bloods? Now of course, we understand why > Britain is not safe despite having the world's biggest database of DNA > information, covering almost the whole country with CCTV and guarding > their borders. I was reading somewhere that people hide inside trucks in > France and enter the UK without official permits. If they the boarder > guards are busy turning blind persons home, where on earth they are > going to fight the real illegal immigrants? > > Subramani > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in > [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of sandesh > Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 2:50 PM > To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > Subject: [AI] Pakistan blind cricketers denied UK visa > > Pakistan blind cricketers denied UK visa > > By Aleem Maqbool > BBC News, Islamabad > > > > Pakistan's cricketers are worried they will not be able to defend their > title > Earlier this week it was members of a pipe band from Pakistan that were > denied visas to travel to Britain, now it is the country's blind cricket > team. > > Pakistan's blind cricketers are the reigning world champions. The squad > members have just finished attending a nine-day training camp, ahead of > what was supposed to be a four-match UK tour (on the invitation of Blind > Cricket England and Wales). > > But the team's visa applications have been rejected. > > The UK Border Agency says it did not have sufficient evidence to be > convinced the players would return to Pakistan once the tour was over. > > 'Hurt and insulted' > > Sitting in his Islamabad home, beside a table packed with sporting > trophies, is the chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, and > former blind cricket captain Syed Sultan Shah. > > > It feels like we are being denied our rights > > Syed Sultan Shah, Chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council > He says he is stunned by the decision: "We provided letters from our > council, and from the Pakistan Cricket Board, who confirmed they would > cover all costs," he says. > > "The English Cricket Board supplied our names and passport numbers. The > Pakistan ministry of sport gave us official leave to travel. We all > signed affidavits to say we would return, and if we did not, our > families would be penalised. What more could we do? > > "When we toured the UK in 2002 and 2006, nobody stayed behind. We just > want to play cricket." > > Mr Shah says the players had all taken leave from work, and that > hundreds of thousands of rupees (thousands of pounds) had been spent on > the training camp, new kit and on the visa applications themselves. > > "But it's not the money. It feels like we are being denied our rights. > We are all very hurt, very disturbed and feel very insulted by this," he > says. > > No apology > > The UK Border Agency insists its ruling is justified. > > "We will make no apology for maintaining tough border controls created > to prevent abuse of the immigration system," it states. > > "If applications do not contain the necessary evidence and we are not > satisfied individuals will return at the end of their visit their visas > will be refused." > > The statement adds that "UKBA is committed to facilitating sporting, > cultural and arts exchanges". > > Eighteen of the 21 Pakistani players and officials that applied to > travel, including the manager and assistant manager, are totally or > partially blind. > > Many were part of the team that won the World Cup on home soil in 2006, > at a tournament in which England also competed. > > "As a blind person, playing cricket changed my life," says Mr Shah. "I > can't tell you how much confidence it gives us, and what it took to win > the World Cup." > > "But this has really been a big blow. And we are worried we won't be > able to defend our title in the future." > > The next World Cup is scheduled to be held in England. > > > > > > > > To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i > n > > Email secured by TPML Raksha Checkpoint > > > > To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
