Schengen visa stickers stolen from Italian embassy in Pakistan
Around 1,000 Schengen visa stickers were stolen from the Italian Embassy in Pakistan this month, the Foreign Office in Islamabad said on Tuesday. Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the theft of visa stickers was reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Italian diplomatic mission, after which the information was immediately shared with the concerned departments.
The stickers were stolen from the embassy's locker room
The Italian embassy in Islamabad had approached Pakistan authorities for help to trace the theft of around 1,000 Schengen visa stickers from its locker room this month, Chaudhri said. As per available information, 750 stolen visa stickers have serial numbers from ITA041913251 to ITA041914000 and the 250 visa stickers have numbers from ITA041915751 to ITA041916000.
A special wing of Islamabad police secures the Italian embassy
Schengen visa is valid for 26 European countries. These are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. No one can enter the Italian embassy without special permission. A special wing of Islamabad police is deputed to provide round-the-clock security.
Numbers have been shared with immigration officials at airports
Police said it is the first such incident and human traffickers having links with people working inside the embassy might be involved in the theft. However, officials said, anyone using the stolen visa stickers would be identified. Officials at the Federal Investigation Agency said, "The number of stolen stickers was shared with the immigration officials at airports to arrest anyone using them."
