What happened: On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Interior Ministry and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about a report of around 1,000 Schengen visa stickers stolen from the locker room of the Italian embassy this month. According to sources, 750 stolen visa stickers have serial numbers from ITA041913251 to ITA041914000 and the 250 visa stickers have the numbers from ITA041915751 to ITA041916000. On June 16th, the embassy reportedly wrote a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking their help in investigating the theft. Why it matters: Each sticker allows entry to 25 countries in the EU. The Schengen visa sticker numbers have been registered and the FIA has been instructed not to allow their use across Pakistani borders. The Federal Investigation Agency has been instructed to keep track of these visa stickers at all entry and exit points of the country and report immediately the seizure of the matter. Moreover, all European Nation Embassies in Pakistan were alerted after locals reportedly stole the 1000 Schengen visa stickers from the Italian embassy in Pakistan. No one can enter the Italian embassy without special permission as a special wing of Islamabad police is deputed to provide round-the-clock security. The police suspect involvement of human traffickers linked with people working inside the embassy to conduct the crime. An overseas official claimed this to be a multi-billion-rupee scam since the price of a Schengen visa starts from Rs2 million and some people may even be willing to pay up to Rs4 million for it. The human trafficking groups have been reportedly known to transport thousands of desperate men, women and children abroad every year. Due to this, apprehensions exist regarding the illegal travel conducted using the stolen visa stickers so far. Officials at the Federal Investigation Agency have assured that anyone in possession of the stolen visa stickers would be identified immediately upon use; “The number of stolen stickers was shared with the immigration officials at airports to arrest anyone using them.” The FIA’s system installed at airports can detect the holder of the stolen visa whenever it is used to travel anywhere in Europe. Click here to see more from Propergaanda.
Menu
Menu