Karachi, October 8, 2025: The Afghanistan men’s football team is set to arrive in Pakistan on Wednesday evening to take part in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match scheduled at Islamabad’s Jinnah Football Stadium on Thursday, after a last-minute resolution to a visa crisis that had threatened the team’s participation.
According to official sources, the Afghan contingent — which had been stranded due to visa delays — was granted special permission to cross the border following the intervention of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who took notice of the issue earlier in the day. The team began its journey this afternoon and is expected to reach Islamabad around 7 PM (PST).
The visa debacle reportedly stemmed from administrative lapses by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), which submitted visa applications to Pakistani authorities on September 27, just 11 days before the scheduled qualifier — far short of the 30-day minimum requirement under AFC competition regulations.
Sources said that as of Tuesday evening, only 10 players and three officials had received Pakistani visas after completing biometric verification at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, while several others — based in foreign countries — were still awaiting clearance.
Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officials said the delay and data errors in visa forms further complicated the process. “The problem wasn’t just the delay — many applications listed Afghanistan as the biometric location for players who actually lived abroad,” one PFF source explained. “This made it impossible for authorities to process them correctly.”
The issue was escalated to Pakistan’s interior ministry earlier this week, with Minister Mohsin Naqvi personally instructing relevant departments to facilitate the team’s entry on humanitarian and sporting grounds to ensure that the Asian Cup fixture could go ahead as planned.
The AFC Asian Cup Qualifier between Pakistan and Afghanistan is scheduled for Thursday at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad, marking a high-stakes regional encounter as both sides aim to advance in the continental tournament.
Officials confirmed that tight security and logistical arrangements have been put in place for the Afghan squad’s arrival and matchday schedule, ensuring the qualifier proceeds without further disruption.
