This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic) اردو (Urdu)
Pakistan born South African cricket star, Imran Tahir, claims that he has been mistreated and humiliated at the Pakistan consulate in Birmingham. The cricketer tweeted that he was treated badly and expelled from Pakistan High Commission along with his family after he was kept waiting for hours. He was there to get visas for Pakistan for the upcoming World XI series in Pakistan.
Imran Tahir tweeted the incident.
Me with my family were humiliated & expelled from Pak High Commission earlier today when I went to get visa to play for WorldXI in Pakistan pic.twitter.com/VByiqV4oFh
— Imran Tahir (@ImranTahirSA) September 4, 2017
According to his tweet by Imran Tahir, he had to wait for 5 hours and was later kicked out because the opening hours were over. But it was only after the intervention of the high commissioner that he has was issued the visas.
“It is an irony that being a Pakistani origin South African cricketer and intending to play in World XI was treated miserably. Hats off to High Commissioner Ibne Abbas who rescued me,” he said.
But there could be another side to this story.
Imran Tahir was not humiliated by Pak consulate in Birmingham, he didnt follow visa rules/demanded VIP treatment https://t.co/f5D4SwKegv
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaGeoNews) September 6, 2017
According to Murtaza Ali Shah from Geo News, Imran Tahir didn’t follow the rules, and incomplete documents and demanded VIP treatment. According to Murtaza, Imran Tahir wasn’t humiliated at all.
According to a source, the cricketer was informed about the procedure and was told that for foreign nationals, it is not possible to provide ‘same day’ visa service.
Ahsan Iqbal also apologized.
Imran sorry to read your post. We will have this investigated and action will be taken against those responsible.
— Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) September 5, 2017
Pakistan’s current interior minister also looked into the matter and tweeted Imran Tahir back apologizing him for the inconvenience. He also told him that the investigations are on the way and an action will be taken against those who are responsible for this.
But at the end of the day, Imran and his family were issued Pakistani visas ahead of the Independence Cup starting in a few days. Imran is a part of the World XI team that will play against Pakistan in Lahore in a 3 t20 match series. We wish Imran Tahir the best of luck.
