Sweden shuts down its embassy in Islamabad for an indefinite period over security risks

Sweden has shut down its embassy in Islamabad for an indefinite period over security risks!

According to the Swedish Embassy, it will remain shut to visitors and would not be able to send any documents to its consulates, Gerry centres and home addresses of its applicants.

A notice posted by the embassy states: “Due to the current security situation in Islamabad, the Embassy of Sweden is closed for visitors. The Migration Section is not, at the moment, able to handle requests of any kind. Also, we cannot send any documents to our consulates, Gerry´s, or your home address. We understand that this will cause inconvenience however, the safety of our applicants and staff members is of the highest priority.”

The development has caused inconvenience to many students in Pakistan who were in the process of applying to Swedish universities.

The Pakistan embassy in Sweden in a tweet addressing the situation expressed their hope that the students will be able to apply for visas soon.

Pakistan embassy in Sweden tweeted: “Many Pakistani students are applying for Swedish universities this year asking us about their status. We hope they can apply for a visa soon. Education is an important aspect of our longstanding relationship and students bridge the two countries.”

However, the Swedish embassy has not opened up about the nature of the threat.

But it could be linked with the incident where a Danish-Swedish far-right extremist known for spreading anti-Muslim hatred burned a copy of the holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Jan 21 under the protection of Swedish police.

The incident drew condemnation from Muslims worldwide and many non-Muslim leaders expressed their disapproval of it as well.