By IANS,
Islamabad : The Indian high commission Friday extended the visa of former Pakistani cricket captain Shoaib Malik for another year and he will be also able to visit Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Shoaib Malik and his wife Sania Mirza on Friday met High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal, during the course of which he accepted the request to extend the cricketer’s visa, which is valid till June 24, Online news agency reported.
The couple, accompanied by Sania’s mother Naseema Mirza, arrived here Thursday night with the federal government according them the status of state guests.
On Friday, they were taken amid tight security from their hotel to the Indian high commission for the meeting, which was arranged at Sania’s request.
During the meeting, which was held in a cordial atmosphere and lasted for more than half-an-hour, the Indian high commissioner wished the couple well and hoped they would have a “long and happy married life”.
The couple and their entourage were received by senior police and civil officials at the airport in Rawalpindi and were driven to a five-star hotel in Islamabad.
The security arrangements put in place for the couple’s drive from the airport in Rawalpindi to Islamabad were akin to those made for VVIPs like the president and the prime minister and outsiders were barred from the hotel.