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The decision to decline permission came four days before the scheduled IPL players auction in Goa.
Saleem Altaf, the chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said they had received a copy of a letter the Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry sent to the Sports Ministry, refusing permission to players to travel to India for the Twenty20 tournament.
"All the players who are already signed up with the IPL teams or those who were due to take part in the players auction have been declined permission," Altaf said. Around a dozen players are signed up with IPL franchises, and five others -- Danish Kaneria, Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Hafeez and Asim Kamal -- were due to be auctioned in Goa on February 6.
Altaf said the Sports Ministry had said they had no objection to the cricketers going to India. "But when the Sports Ministry sought advice from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, they said it would not be possible to allow players to travel to India for the IPL," he added.
Sources in the PCB said the Foreign Affairs Ministry had said the cricketers could face security problems in India in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November.
"We have been informed by the Foreign Ministry today that the situation is not conducive for Pakistan cricketers to travel to India," Sports Minister Aftab Jilani said. "We had given the No-Objection Certificate but the final decision was up to the government."
"Players' security was very important for us. Initially we thought it's an individual matter, but then we sought the advice of the Foreign Office. They are the right persons to advise us and their opinion matters. They decided it was not safe enough," Jilani said.
A PCB source said that IPL authorities were not willing to give a security assurance for the Pakistani cricketers.
Altaf said an email had been sent to the IPL informing them of the decision.
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