KEY POINTS
- Interior Minister Naqvi confirms Afghan players issued Pakistani visas
- Match between Pakistan and Afghanistan to proceed as scheduled in Islamabad
- Afghan Football Federation completed the biometric and documentation process
- PFF, AFC, and authorities coordinated to avert match disruption
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday confirmed that Afghanistan’s football team has received visas to enter Pakistan for the AFC Asian Cup qualifier, effectively resolving a diplomatic and logistical impasse that had threatened the scheduled match in Islamabad.
Naqvi told reporters that all outstanding visa matters had been “amicably settled,” allowing the Afghan team to travel and compete as planned.
He said that the issue was resolved through close coordination between the Ministry of Interior, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), and Afghan authorities.
“The visas for all Afghan players and officials have been issued. The match will go ahead in Islamabad as scheduled,” Naqvi stated, adding that both countries’ relevant departments worked “round the clock” to clear the technical bottlenecks.
Officials of the PFF told Dawn that the Afghanistan Football Federation had earlier faced procedural delays because several players were based abroad and required biometric verification at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul.
The documents were eventually submitted and processed after intervention from both governments and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
According to Business Recorder, the AFC had warned that failure to secure the visas could have led to a walkover or rescheduling. The swift resolution, officials said, reflects improved cooperation between the two federations and regional sports bodies.
The Pakistan–Afghanistan qualifier is now confirmed to take place at Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad, under AFC supervision, with both teams expected to arrive on schedule for training and media engagements later this week.
