Work visa denied for hockey coach
Pakistanis are angry at decision, saying it smacks of discrimination
A Pakistani hockey player has been denied a work visa by immigration officials on the grounds he lacks 'a special skill, knowledge or experience of value' to Hong Kong.
Wajid Aslam has been recruited as a full-time, professional coach by the Pakistan Association.
The refusal of a work permit has angered Pakistani community members, who are demanding an explanation.
Some fear the judgment may be linked to racial or political discrimination against Pakistanis.
Aslam, a former national team player and college coach, is one of three Pakistanis the association has recruited.
The club has agreed to sponsor his visa application and has provided the Immigration Department with evidence of the financial and personal support it would be providing him.
'Wajid Aslam has all the special skills [required],' said Amjed Mahmood, convenor of the Pakistan Association's hockey club.
'He has played for the Pakistan national under-16 and under-21 teams and he has [been head coach] for different colleges in Pakistan.'
He said there was concern the Pakistani community was facing some form of discrimination in relation to the decision.
Several elite hockey clubs in Hong Kong are fielding up to three overseas professionals each this season, including players from New Zealand, India and China.
Hong Kong Hockey Association president Roger Nissim said yesterday he fully endorsed the efforts by the Pakistan Association to sponsor the star player as a coach for the upcoming season.
He said he was mystified by the Immigration Department's decision.
'We at the [hockey] association have offered to help in any way we can,' said Mr Nissim, a project manager for Sun Hung Kai Property.
'We are happy to write whatever references or letters of support that they need.'
He said Hong Kong had just expanded the competition into a premier league, including teams from Macau and Guangdong, with the aim of broadening the popular appeal of the sport.
'The whole idea of the new league is to raise the domestic level of the sport in Hong Kong,' Mr Nissim said.
'And the only way we can do that is to encourage top-quality players to come to the city.'
Mr Nissim agreed there were concerns the decision to deny was linked to some form of bias or discrimination.
However, a spokeswoman for the Pakistani Consulate-General in Hong Kong said there had been no evidence of any form of discrimination against its citizens.
