ISLAMABAD, NOV 12 (DNA) – The Embassy of the Netherlands in Islamabad has temporarily closed down its operations in the wake of “serious” threats.

Sources said on Monday that the embassy of the Netherlands decided to discontinue counselor services also albeit for the time being. Hence, all visa interviews have been cancelled.

The Netherlands embassy made this decision in order to avoid any untoward incident after release of Aasia Bibi by the Apex Court of Pakistan.

There were reports that Aasia Bibi, soon after her release from Multan jail, was flown to the Netherlands. However Pakistan’s foreign office had immediately issued a statement saying Aasia Bibi was in Pakistan and with her family.

Nevertheless, Aasia Bibi’s lawyer left Pakistan after the court verdict. He claimed he was facing serious life threats that is why he had to leave.

Diplomatic sources say the closure of the Dutch embassy is for the time being and decision to re-open the mission shall be taken after assessing the security situation.

It may be mentioned here that some time ago Denmark had also closed down its embassy in Pakistan after blasphemous caricatures incident.

The Danish embassy was closed after an attack from an angry mob in 2015.  However the embassy was re-opened after a short while. The Danish embassy was more prone to attacks because it was situated in the heart of the city and in the residential area.

While the Dutch embassy is now located in the Diplomatic Enclave, which is considered a safe area in terms of security.

There is one foreign mission that had closed down its operations on security grounds but never re-opened the embassy. This country happens to be Finland, which wrapped up its operations from Pakistan almost a decade ago.

The Finland embassy was located very close to the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and was closed down in the wake of military action against Lal Masjid.

Since then the Finland embassy in Pakistan is not operational despite the fact they still are in possession of the building. =DNA

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