NRAP not to send shooters to India

KARACHI: National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) has excluded India from its future participation tour programme.

“We will send our shooters to all international events in 2023 except those held in India,” said an official of NRAP while talking to ‘The News’.

It is to be noted that an ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol is scheduled in Bhopal, India, from March 20-31 next year.

According to International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), the qualifying period for shooting sport for Paris 2024 is from August 14, 2022 to June 9, 2024. Though two shooters from Pakistan have won quota places for Paris Olympics, they need to be sent to every international event for practice,” said the official.

NRAP, he added, would provide national shooters including those who qualified for Paris Olympics enough opportunities for participation in international events but not in those held in India.

The reason behind this, the official said, was India’s treatment of Pakistani athletes.

“India refused visas to our two shooters in 2019 although they were supposed to take part in an Olympic Qualifying Quota Event for 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said the official.

He added that Pakistani shooters were quite disappointed as their hard work went in vain due to India’s discriminatory attitude.

In the past, he added, a nominated Pakistani jury member Mohammad Idrees was not issued visa in time by India because of which he failed to perform his duties.

In 2016, an Asian Olympic quota event was held in India after the cancellation of Olympic Qualifying Status of the 13th Asian Shooting Championship held in Kuwait.

“Pakistani team was given visas on the last day by Indian High Commission for the said Asian Olympic quota event,” said the official. “The Pakistani team manager with all the firearm and ammunition was stranded at Abu Dhabi Airport for 24 hours because the Indian government was not allowing the firearm and ammunition of Pakistani shooting team to be brought into India for participation in that Olympic Qualifying event of Asia,” he added.