India said on Monday it would open special visa offices in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi to process thousands of fans who want to travel across the border for a historic cricket tour.
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"The High Commission has put in place arrangements to facilitate timely issuance of visas to those desirous of witnessing cricket matches in India," an embassy statement said.
Pakistan arrive in New Delhi on February 28 to play three Tests and six one-day games on their first tour of their traditional South Asian rivals for six years.
The special visa counters, which will be set up in local hotels and cultural centres, will start functioning in Lahore from Thursday.
India last month said it planned to issue 10,000 visas to Pakistanis who want to watch the series.
Almost the same number of Indians visited Pakistan when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan last year, their first visit to Pakistan since 1989.
"All those holding valid tickets for a particular match will be considered for a visa," the statement said, adding that visas would be issued within 24 hours of applications.
The Test matches are scheduled for Mohali, Kolkata and Bangalore while one-day games will be played in Cochin, Vishakapatnam, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur and New Delhi.
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