Islamabad: Sweden has announced closing its embassy in Pakistan “indefinitely” due to the prevailing “security situation” in the crisis-hit country’s capital.
The embassy did not elaborate on the nature of the threat, but Pakistan’s political situation is getting worse amid growing tension between the government and the Supreme Court.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court was hearing a petition to annul a bill aiming at curbing the powers of the chief justice to form panels of his choice for different cases.
“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,” a notice on the embassy’s website reads.
“Also, we cannot send any documents to our consulates, Gerry´s, or to your home address. We understand that this will cause inconvenience. However, the safety of our applicants and staff members is of the highest priority,” it said.
The notice also stated that any questions regarding the reopening of the mission cannot be answered at the moment.
Many believe the decision was linked to the recent incident of the burning of the Quran in Sweden.
A Danish-Swedish far-right extremist burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm January 21 under the protection of Swedish police, drawing condemnation from Muslims worldwide.
The political leaders of Pakistan, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and ousted premier Imran Khan, had condemned the incident.
“No words are enough to adequately condemn the abhorrable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by a right-wing extremist in Sweden. The garb of freedom of expression cannot be used to hurt the religious emotions of 1.5 billion Muslims across the world. This is unacceptable,” Sharif had tweeted.
China temporarily closed down the consular section of its embassy in Pakistan in February due to “technical issues”, days after advising Chinese citizens in this country to be cautious due to the deteriorating security situation.
PTI