PM will take up issue of Pakistani death row prisoner with Indonesian dignitary: FM

Foreign Office spokesperson also said issue is being raised on every forum

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will take up the matter of Pakistani death row prisoner in Indonesia, Zulfiqar Ali, with the Indonesian dignitary at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

PM will take up the matter of Pakistani prisoner in Indonesia with visiting Dignitary..requesting for repatriation in view of terminal illness of the prisoner ..

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) January 25, 2018

Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Faisal in a briefing on Thursday also mentioned the country is working on Ali's repatriation, reported Express News.



He said Pakistan was in constant contact with the Indonesian embassy and is raising the issue on every forum. The spokesperson further said the country is bearing the medical costs of the prisoner.

Ali, 53, was taken into custody in Indonesia on drug-related charges back in 2004. He has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and according to doctors has three months to live. He was already suffering from chronic liver and Diabetes Mellitus when he was arrested.

His case came to the fray back in 2016 when Indonesia told Pakistani embassy in Jakarta that he would be executed for being convicted on charges of possession of 300-grammes of heroin. His execution was stayed after rights groups and the United Nations implored the Indonesian government, after which Islamabad also intervened.

Ali was arrested from his home without a warrant in Java province.