Pakistan issue extra visas

Blocks of Indian fans will be generally discouraged in Pakistan

Pakistan has announced a liberal visa policy to allow thousands of cricket fans from India to watch the forthcoming cricket series.

The ministry of the interior said it has been decided to issue more than 8,000 visas to Indians cricket fans for the five one-day international matches.

Pakistan has decided to set aside the existing policy of strict scrutiny for Indian travellers, and in all, 8,250 visas will be issued to Indian cricket fans who hold match tickets.

The policy for the Test matches will be announced at a later date.

Tickets for the matches are already attracting a massive response.

For the first time, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is selling tickets online and will allocate a fifth of all stadium seats to Indian cricket fans.

Indian supporters will not be shy to show their allegiance

Officials have, however, ruled that visiting fans from India will not be allowed to meet relatives in Pakistan during their stay.

The tour kicks off on 13 March with the first of five one-day internationals being played in the southern port city of Karachi.

That will be followed by three Test matches to be played in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan.

The PCB has already said that Indian fans will not be segregated away from Pakistani supporters during the matches, to avoid any kind of hostility among fans when the matches take place.

And on Tuesday, Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said he wanted his players to avoid any onfield verbal exchanges with the Indian players.

"I don't want any misconduct or verbal exchanges as we need to play the game as it should be played," Haq said.

"Billions of people will be watching us on television and I think it is a great opportunity for us to prove to the world that we are a sporting nation and play the game in true spirit."

The last time India toured Pakistan for a Test series was in 1989.