Miandad cancels visit to India after visa controversy

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan batsman, has cancelled a planned visit to India following a controversy over his being granted a travel visa. Miandad's son Junaid is married to the daughter of Dawood Ibrahim, India's most highly-wanted fugitive accused of planning the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. The Indian government's decision to grant Miandad a visa had sparked outrage in some circles in India given his links to Dawood.

Miandad was due to visit India to watch the third ODI between India and Pakistan in Delhi on Sunday. The government said Miandad's visa application papers were valid and in order, and had decided to grant him a visa as he was not on a "negative list" of people who were to be denied entry into India.

"It's a decision that has been taken by the Home Ministry," India's External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said. "And I am sure they would have taken inputs from all concerned agencies and from our mission in Pakistan... they would have followed all procedures."

However, the main opposition party BJP, and the Shiv Sena, its ally in the state of Maharashtra, criticised the government for granting him a visa.