For many Pakistanis, the opportunity to study in Sweden is at stake, with the closure of the embassy here. They fear their time, energy, and money to opt for the Scandinavian country was not worth it. ‘Help us’ is their demand from the authorities.

“We have been waiting for three months for passport checks and biometrics and interviews,” said *Kabir Altaf told Aaj News on Monday. “The Swedish migration agency announced its decision for an alternate but no solution was still provided.”

Altaf is like many others who have been waiting for the Swedish embassy in Islamabad to reopen “since February”. But the country made the announcement it would stay closed on its website on April 5.

“The Embassy of Sweden in Islamabad remains open but is temporarily closed for external visitors. The Migration Section is currently unable to handle any issues requiring a visit by applicants,” it said.

The embassy cannot provide information on when migration activities at the embassy can be resumed, said the handout, adding that the embassy was not able to send documents to its consulates, Gerry’s, Sweden or to home addresses.

Contrary to the English version of the notice, the message in Swedish said the decision was taken in view of the increase in terrorist attacks. It advised its citizens in Pakistan to avoid visiting places where many people gather and in the vicinity of diplomatic missions, religious meeting places, hotels and restaurants.

The Swedish embassy did not elaborate on the nature of the threat, however, many applicants believe the decision was linked to the recent incident of burning of the holy Quran in Sweden.

Altaf applied through the migration website last year after getting a postdoctoral position at a Swedish university. He contacted the embassy in Islamabad several times, but they replied that the embassy was closed due to “security reasons”.

Read: Pakistan embassy in Sweden suspends visa operations after fake documentation scandal

His request to Swedish embassies in the Middle Eastern countries has so far been not entertained. He also visited Saudi Arabia for a passport check and biometric, but his request was turned down as the system “did not” show his details

Altaf, who is a lecturer at a state-run university, had requested several times to the Swedish embassy in Islamabad to transfer his case to their embassy in Riyadh. But they refused and asked him to wait for the embassy to reopen.

Five days after the announcement, the Pakistan Embassy in Sweden tweeted that many Pakistani students were applying for Swedish universities this year and were asking them about their status. It hoped that students could apply for visas soon.

‘Lost’ opportunities

*Shahida Ali lamented that she lost other opportunities because of the closure of the embassy. “Still I am not eligible to apply for September intake as I have not attempted the comparative test,” she said.

Ali had got the admission to the PhD programme at Umea University in November 2022. She applied for a residence permit on Nov 2, 2022. She received an appointment booking for February 2, 2023. But due to the embassy’s shutdown, she was not able to make it.

“We have not been provided with any kind of assistance or satisfactory information regarding further process,” she said.

In one of the emails, the embassy informed her that they would contact her if her appointment was cancelled. They advised her to not send reminder emails as everyone would get a “new date”.

Termed brain drain, the rate of Pakistanis leaving for abroad over the years has increased. Better education opportunities, advanced research, and economic situation have always prompted people to look for green pastures.

As many as 765,000 people left Pakistan for abroad in 2022, nearly triple the 225,000 departures in 2021 and 288,000 emigrants in 2020, Bureau of Emigrants data shows. Of these 765,000 workers, 92,000 were highly educated professionals with degrees in medicine, technology, etc.

*Shahbaz Khan from Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has paid 89,000 Swedish Krona (around Rs2.5 million) worth of fees and showed a bank statement of Rs3.5 million for his admission to a university.

“We are in a lot of tension,” he said.

An appeal to the government

*Aftab Sheikh got admitted autumn intake of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. He applied for a Master of Animal Science. He has completed all the process.

He lamented that neither the embassy nor the university has given any satisfactory information. Sheikh urged the government to take their matter seriously and resolve the matter “as soon as possible” so that they do not have a learning loss.

He added that they have given so much time and energy to the admissions. His efforts to seek help from embassies in other countries have not produced any results as the authorities have refused, citing that Pakistan was not in their “geographical mandate”.

*Affaq Hassan was told that the embassy would remain closed this year, however, the administration was trying to make an alternative. But there was no such confirmation as the fee deadline was near, he said, alleging that the officials were resolving this matter on a priority basis.

He got admission to the master’s programme in economics at Umea University.

Umair Latif from Lahore is waiting for the scholarship to pay the fee. He claimed to have sent emails, running social media trends, and written letters to raise their concern. He added that a recent meeting between Pakistani officials and the Swedish ambassador was not productive.

He has to fee 75,000 Swedish Krona (over Rs2 million) worth of fees. Latif, who resigned from his job after getting the admission, urged Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to talk to Swedish officials.

According to *Afsar Ahmed, he has not got any response from the ministry and foreign office over his queries. He has deferred his fees since the university was not giving any extension to him.

Wasiq Ali from Karachi got admission to a master’s programme in a software engineering subject. He shared that his application would be cancelled if he did not apply for the visa. It has a three-month time duration. He went on to add that in case of not getting admission, those who have paid the fee will have to face a deduction in the form of administrative and transactional fees. He added that it takes three to six months to refund the amount.

“If the embassy opens late… then we have to reach there in August when our classes will start and there we will also have to face issues,” he said and hoped for the embassy to reopen.

Foreign secretary presses Swedish ambassador

The matter also came under discussion during a meeting between Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan and Swedish Ambassador Henrik Persson on April 14. Khan stressed the early resumption of normal consular services and full facilitation of Pakistani students by the embassy.

“Pakistan continues to ensure the security of all diplomatic missions in Islamabad and a notice on the Swedish embassy’s website is misleading as the security situation in the federal capital is normal,” he said.

The temporary closure of the embassy was a transitory measure because of an “unforeseen situation”, which would be rectified soon, said the Swedish ambassador.

Foreign Secretary Khan went on to add that Pakistani students should be facilitated to the maximum extent possible. The ambassador had agreed to resolve the issues in a “quick and amicable” manner.

The Swedish embassy in Islamabad advised Aaj News on May 2 to visit their website as they could comment on the queries. But the Foreign Office did not respond to Aaj News’ request for comment.

The identities of most people have been changed to maintain privacy.

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