Embassy ‘reluctant’ to return Pakistani citizen’s passport

–Ammad Siddiqui submitted his passport with Portuguese Embassy in October 2017, which they have withheld since

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani citizen and grandson of film star Mohammad Saaed alias Rangeela, Muhammad Ammad Siddiqui, aspiring to complete his higher education from abroad, applied in a Portuguese university and subsequently for a visa last year in September, but the Portuguese embassy, since then, has been reluctant to return it.

According to the details, Siddiqui applied for a visa on September 15, 2017, and appeared for an interview and passport submission on October 15. He was allocated visa processing reference #: LHAC/150917/0001/01 and his passport no is DF5430306.

Siddiqui, who had scored an admission at a Portuguese university, was later informed that his visa had been denied. Although Siddiqui managed to get his money back, he could not get hold of his passport. In the meantime, he got an approval letter from a South Korean University.

Sensing a ray of hope, Siddiqui informed the Portuguese Embassy and asked them to return his passport so that he could send his documents to South Korea. However, despite repeated reminders and requests, the embassy remained reluctant to give it back.

Pakistan Today tried to reach Miss Alma, secretary to the Portuguese ambassador, for a comment but she refused to give one.

Farah Deeba, the elder daughter of film star Rangeela, who also served as a lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly and advisor on health to the Punjab chief minister, has raised this issue and asked the authorities concerned to take due action and save the career of a young man aspiring to study abroad.

It is worth mentioning here that every year, hundreds of thousands of Pakistani students apply in various universities of the world for higher education. The time between applying for admissions and final submission, at times, is a few weeks.

Several students apply in universities all around the world. At such a juncture, the withholding of passport may mean lost opportunities and grave consequences.

Siddiqui, while talking to Pakistan Today, said that he requests the embassy staff to return his passport that has been with them for more than 10 months now, and as a result of which, his admission in a South Korean university has been imperiled.