Ace shooter to miss WC due to China stapled visa

New Delhi, Apr 16: The stapled visa dispute between India and China has taken a new turn as an ace Indian shooter has been stopped from leaving to Beijing as he carried the 'invalid' stapled visa.

Pemba Tamang, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, was stopped by immigration officials in Mumbai from boarding a flight to China due to his visa on Thursday, Apr 15.

China issues stapled visas to Indians from Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. But the Ministry of External Affairs declared these visas invalid in 2009.

However, the rapid fire pistol shooter and the Commonwealth Games gold medallist reportedly was not aware of this development.

“I had travelled to China on a paper visas on three previous occasions and I was wasn"t aware that the government had declared them invalid. If I had known, I would not have accepted the visa when it was issued to me," Tamang told a news agency.

The shooting champ is forced to miss the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, which is scheduled to begin Apr 17 in Beijing.

India and China have been exchanging bitter words over the issue but have failed to come to a resolution leaving the common people to suffer the inconvenience.

OneIndia News