South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir has claimed that he and his family was humiliated at the Pakistan High Commission in Birmingham when he went there to acquire the visa to travel to Pakistan for the World XI series later this month. "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," Tahir wrote on Twitter.
"I have undergone a very unfortunate situation in the Pakistani Consulate Birmingham today. I had visited Consulate to secure our Pakistani visas with my family members. After going through the painful trauma of waiting for long 5 hours I was expelled by the staff explaining that the office hours are over and they are closing the Consulate. It was only after the intervention of High Commissioner Ibn e Abbas who instructed the staff that we were issued visas. It's an irony that being Pakistani origin South African Cricketer and intended to play in World XI was treated so miserably. Hats off to High Commissioner Ibn e Abbas who rescued me," he added.
The 38-year-old Lahore born Tahir moved to the United Kingdom for the love of a woman. However, it is in South Africa where he met his wife and established himself as one of the best limited-overs leg-spinners in the world.
Meanwhile, Paistan's Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal took note of Tahir's complaint and assured investigation and action.
Last month, Tahir along with his South African teammates Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and David Miller were named in the World XI team to play a three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan in Lahore in September.
The series is aimed at reviving international cricket in Pakistan, which has hosted just Zimbabwe and Afghanistan over the last eight years since terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in Lahore in 2009. The squad will arrive in Lahore on September 11 after a two-day camp in Dubai under the coaching of Andy Flower. The three matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on September 12, 13 and 15.
Over the years the PCB has been trying hard to convince foreign teams to tour Pakistan. It showcased stringent security arrangements when it successfully hosted the final of its premier domestic T20 tournament - also in Lahore in March in which former West Indies captain Sammy and Marlon Samuels also participated.
The series against a World XI has been given international Twenty20 status by the International Cricket Council, which formed a Pakistan Task Team under its director Giles Clarke in 2009.
