The Pakistani delegates for the Commonwealth Games, who were complaining of travelling restrictions for going out of Delhi on their visas, can now breathe in relief. The accreditation of Pakistani delegates will be treated as their visas for travelling out of Delhi, confirmed sources in the Delhi government.
Earlier, Pakistan high commissioner Shahid Malik had met home secretary G.K. Pillai and discussed with him the issue of security for the Pakistan delegation during the Commonwealth Games a couple of days ago. Sources said that during this meeting, he had also raised the issue of city-specific visa restrictions faced by Pakistani athletes and officials. This was proving to be a problem for Pakistani sportspersons as there were apprehensions that they would not be able to take the trip to Agra or even to the full-bore firing range located at Kadarpur in Gurgaon.
The home secretary, according to sources, has assured Mr Malik that the Commonwealth Games accreditation cards, issued to the contingent, would be considered as visas and hence the athletes and officials would not face any problems to travel either to the CRPF firing range in Gurgaon or to embark on a sightseeing trip of the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Meanwhile, accreditation has been a problem area for the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games. The accreditation clearances for a large number of performers, volunteers and medical staff had been lingering till the last moment. It was only cleared on October 2, the eve of opening ceremony.