KARACHI: In a surprising move High Commission of India granted visas only to nine female ju-jitsu players of Pakistan, while 16 male players and six officials, including two referees, were denied visas. The 32-man Pakistan contingent was set to proceed to Bangalore for the First South Asian and Central Asian Ju-Jitsu Championship to be held at Koramangala Indoor Stadium Bengaluru, Karnataka, from May 29 to 31. Mohammad Umar, an official of the ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), was the only man who was issued visa. Following this, Pakistan Ju-Jitsu Federation (PJJF) decided that it would not send the female players to India. “How can we send only the women! It’s totally unethical,” Pakistan Ju-Jitsu Federation’s (PJJF) president Khalil Ahmed told ‘The News’ on Wednesday. “There is no justification for this,” he said. “We will raise the issue at Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and other forums,” he said. Khalil said the step taken by India was based on prejudice. “The delaying tactics are strange. The event starts from tomorrow and the passports have been returned today,” the official said. “My counterpart in India Suresh Gopi called today and told me that only our female players were being issued visas. I told him that it would be useless,” Khalil said. “Before contacting me Suresh had contacted High Commission of India in Pakistan,” he said. Khalil said the players had prepared for three and a half months for the competitions. “It’s a huge loss for the players as being Asian champions winning medals at the South Asian level was not a problem for them,” Khalil said. A PJJF press release said that High Commission of India proved their bias and prejudice towards Pakistan. “PJJF received the official invitation of the event from Ju-Jitsu Union of Asia which was responded positively. A provisional list of 38-member squad was then sent,” the release said. “Then a final list of 25 players, four officials and two referees was sent to the organisers in India. The list was submitted by them with the ministry of the external affairs of India. The passports were submitted with the High Commission of India after taking NOC from the ministry of IPC along with relevant documents. The High Commission then processed the case. The organisers from India also approached High Commission for the issuance of visas to Pakistan’s squad,” it elaborated. “The High Commission of India apparently with discriminatory and malafide intent approved visas for only nine female players. It appears that a deliberate effort has been made to deprive the Asian champions from taking part in the event in a bid to provide an opportunity to their own players to win medals,” the release added. The PJJF demanded that the government of Pakistan protest against the biased attitude of the High Commission of India. Despite the treatment by India with them, PJJF still pledged that it would invite India for an international event in Islamabad in September. “India will be invited. In the event nations from across the world will be featuring. Some countries, including England, have confirmed their entries,” a PJJF official said. “Sports is above politics and is the best way of diplomacy,” PJJF said. ‘The News’ tried to contact the visa section of the High Commission of India in Islamabad and the president of Ju-Jitsu Association of India Suresh Gopi but no response was received. Federal minister for IPC Riaz Hussain Pirzada was also contacted but he also did not respond. International Handball Federation (IHF) recently imposed a fine on Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) after the Indian team was not issued visas for featuring in the International Handball Challenge Trophy in Faisalabad last year.
