visa to Miandad and other Pakistanis ~ is that right ?

The more than a month long bonanza from 3^rd Apr ti 26^th May will enrich the coffers of BCCI more and soon everything would be conveniently forgotten……… ‘the new low of Indian team’s performances would not be a point of discussion’ when IPL 6 commences .. it is a tournament when players make merry at the cost of fans ~ Chris Gayle already holds the record of a century (of sixers) but all Indians would still vividly remember that six hit in 1986 ~ a six that continues to haunt the memory of Indians

It was not a time when matches were won on the last ball ~ a time when scores of 250 were considered insurmountable ! ~ the hapless bowler was Chetan Sharma who bowled the final over when 11 were required.  Two wickets fell during that over ; the last ball was a low full-toss which was dispatched to midwicket for a six – match was lost and Captain’s head was hunted.  Rajan Bala wrote ‘Kapil in need of maths tuition’ [why I feel Rajan Bala was totally wrong will feature in a different post]  ~ that provided Pak a dominance over India and India is still to recover from that damage.   The man who hit went on to become the first player to have played in Six World Cups [from 1975 – 1996]; the other player to do so is Sachin Tendulkar.  

That man is in news ~ no prize for guessing – it is Javed Miandad, a grand player who captained Pak for sometime.  There was furore in Parliament over granting of visa to Miandad.  BJP and Shiv Sena trained their guns on the Congress-led UPA government for giving visa to Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad.  Unfazed, the Centre defended its decision, saying he was not on India's "negative or banned list". The home ministry said Miandad has been granted a visa as he is a Pakistan Cricket Board Official and wants to come to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match on January 6.

According to Minister of State for Home RPN Singh, he is a well-known cricketer, his visa application was in order and Govt had no qualm in granting visa to him.  External affairs minister Salman Khurshid also said that home ministry had followed proper procedures while issuing a visa to Miandad.

What is conveniently swept under the carpet is that the person is related to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim  who has been the mastermind of several terror acts. Pakistan has refused to hand him over to India despite several efforts.  Miandad's son Junaid is married to Dawood's daughter Mahrukh Ibrahim.

BJP maintained that Pakistan should hand over Dawood before Miandad is allowed to visit India. Dawood had allegedly masterminded the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He fled to Pakistan after the attacks and is said to be based there. "Pakistan today is a factory of terror and manufactures terrorists who work against India," Naqvi said. BJP MP Kirti Azad asked why the government had allowed Miandad to visit the country after seven years when "Indian government had refused to give him visa since 2005".

To Foreign minister Salman Khurshid, visa  was granted by the MHA  following the right procedures. There have been many a times the Govt and various Ministers have spoken of Pak abetting cross-border terrorism and had appealed for action against terrorists including Dawood. Now in the name of conduct of cricket, everything is given a go by.  The present series is only enriching the coffers of Pak Board, while causing harm to the Nation……… even if cricket is played, why visa to Pakis for visiting India to see matches, when openly it had been admitted earlier that people who had come under the garb of seeing matches had not returned.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

4^th Jan 2013.