80 Pak scouts denied Danish visa amid row between officials

KARACHI: Due to a dispute between the officials of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association, the Embassy of Denmark did not issue visas to 80 scouts going to Copenhagen to participate in the World Jamboree in the area of Hedeland. Thus Pakistan was deprived of participating in the World Jamboree.

It was reported that the World Scout Jamboree was to be held in Copenhagen from July 23 to July 31, in which more than 40,000 scouts from all over the world were to participate, including Pakistan. The list of 80 participants was sent to the embassy and visas were requested. However, 13 days later, International Scouts Commissioner Shoaib Ahmad Dahri wrote a letter to the Danish ambassador on May 31.

The letter stated that there were some irregularities in the process of selection of participants for the Scouts Jamboree, in view of which it is requested that the list of 80 participants earlier given for issuance of Danish visas is withdrawn/ cancelled. After the letter, the Embassy of Denmark did not issue visas to any Pakistani scouts who had even submitted visa fee.

Pakistan Boy Scouts Association Chief Commissioner Sarfaraz Daha told this scribe that when the International Scouts commissioner asked for money from several scouts who wanted to get a visa to Denmark and they did not give the money, he wrote a letter to the embassy not to grant visas. As a result, Pakistani scouts lost their fees and did not get the visas. He said that they had also written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Complaints Cell and FIA on the issue.

On the other hand, International Scouts Commissioner Shoaib Ahmad Dahri said, “I found out that a letter was written to the Danish Embassy for visas to 80 people with my fake signature. In this list, were the names of friends and relatives of the Chief Commissioner of Pakistan Boy Scouts Association and people who were not scouts. I was afraid that they would not come back and stay there and cause disrepute to Pakistan. I wrote a visa cancellation letter to the Danish Embassy.” He said that he will file an FIR against the chief commissioner.