Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) after an alleged visa scandal, has ordered Pakistani embassies in European countries to not issue visas to Afghan citizens till further orders, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

According to ARY News, the foreign ministry issued instructions to all embassies across Europe to stop the issuance of visas to Afghan citizens.

The step by the ministry came after an alleged scandal of the issuance of Pakistani visas to 1,600 Afghan nationals on fake residential cards of Sweden.

The FO issued the orders to the Pakistani embassies in the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Earlier, it was learned that Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an inquiry into the issuance of visas to 1,600 Afghans by a Pakistan mission in Europe on bogus residence cards of Sweden.

According to sources, the Pakistan embassy in Sweden has issued 1,600 visas to Afghan nationals on bogus residence cards, ARY News reported.

After the news broke out, the foreign office took notice of the issue and ordered an immediate inquiry, asking all Pakistani missions abroad to stop issuing visas of any category to Afghan nationals until further orders.

The foreign ministry also ordered the cancellation of the visas granted to the Afghans.

Afghanistan-based news agency Pajhwok Afghan News recently reported that Pakistan's military forces torture and harass Afghans who travel through the Spin Boldak-Chaman gate.

The Spin Boldak-Chaman Gate also known as The Friendship Gate is located on the Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border).

Passengers traveling to Pakistan say the Pakistani forces misbehave with them, keep them waiting for hours on different pretexts, and extort them.

The Spin Boldak-Chaman border between Afghanistan and Pakistan border is crossed by more than 20,000 people daily for trade, treatment, and other purposes.

Most of these travelers are residents of Chaman, Quetta, and other areas on the other side of the Durand Line and Kandahar.

Muhammad Ismail, who just arrived from Chaman in Spin Boldak through the gate, said the Pakistani forces had once again started torturing and extorting people near the gate.

"Difficulties had never ended on this road, but sometimes the atrocities increase to the level where one feels hopeless. The Pakistanis harass people, insult them, delay them for hours, mercilessly beat them, and force them into paying money," Ismail told Pajhwok Afghan News.