Asian Cup Qualifiers: Afghanistan Team Arrives in Pakistan After Visa Issues Resolved

ISLAMABAD: The first squad of the Afghanistan men's football team arrived in the federal capital on Wednesday evening for their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Pakistan, following visa difficulties.

Tomorrow's match between Pakistan and Afghanistan will take place at Islamabad's Jinnah Football Stadium.

Previously, the highly anticipated match was about to be postponed due to visa complications affecting numerous players.

Mohsen Gillani, head of the Pakistan Football Federation, spoke out against the difficulties the day before.

“The players and officials who were in Afghanistan have obtained their visas to travel to Pakistan, but those living abroad had to go to Afghanistan to get the required clearance,” Mohsen said.

“That process is mandatory as per the Afghanistan Football Federation’s decision of nominating the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul to issue the visas.”

However, after the problem was raised, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi took note and granted the team special permission to visit Pakistan.

“Issued now,” Mohsin Naqvi wrote in response to journalist Faizan Lakhani’s post, “Thank you for highlighting it,” Naqvi added.