Junior Pakistani athletes refused Canadian visas
July 29 2010 by Liam Clifford
Pakistan’s young athletes have been denied the chance to compete in the 13th IAFF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, after being refused the necessary Canadian visa.
The Canadian High Commission said the young Pakistani team was
unable to compete with the World Junior Athletics Championship between 19 and
25 July. One of the Pakistani team was scheduled to run the 400 metres
sprint.
Khalid Mahmood, the secretary of the Athletics Federation of
Pakistan, stated, “We have been refused a Canadian visa and I don’t know the
reasons behind it.”
“We have forwarded our concerns to the international
governing body besides the hosts,” he continued.
However, it is thought
that the Canadian visas have been denied because some Pakistani athletes who
have travelled to the West have gone missing, abusing their visas in order to
remain living in Canada, the US or Europe illegally. This is according to the
Daily Mail publication in Islamabad.
A sports analysts talking to the
paper added that the Canadian visa debacle was another example of how poorly
Pakistani athletes can be treated, even those competing on a national and
international level.
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