ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has taken a strong exception to the alleged visa scandal and has advised the embassies in European countries against issuing visas to Afghan citizens till further orders.
Well placed sources reveal that the foreign ministry issued instructions to all embassies across Europe to stop the issuance of visas to Afghan citizens after an alleged scandal of the issuance of Pakistani visas to 1,600 Afghan nationals on fake residential cards of Sweden made headlines.
The Pakistani embassies in the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands have been issued instructions in this regard.
Besides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also launched an inquiry into the issuance of visas to 1,600 Afghans by a Pakistan mission in Europe on counterfeit residence cards of Sweden. It has also been reported that 1600 visas already issued would now be cancelled.
