The Italian embassy in Pakistan's capital Islamabad "immediately" reported a thousand Schengen visa stickers that allegedly went missing from the embassy and the foreign ministry has moved "to shed full light" on the case, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The discovery in Pakistan of Schengen visa stickers missing from Italy's embassy in Islamabad was immediately reported by the embassy about a month ago, in constant coordination with the Italian foreign ministry, to national law enforcement, to Italian magistrates, to Schengen partners and to relevant Pakistan authorities," said the statement.
"Therefore a thoroughgoing investigation is underway into the possible use of fraudulent visas. The foreign ministry has also set in motion a series of checks aimed at shedding full light on this case," the statement added.
Pakistan has been listed 11th country in the world with the highest rejected Schengen visa rates, following several African countries. In 2021, the data revealed that 43.5 per cent of visa applications from Pakistan had been rejected, according to Schengen visa statistics.
