38% of Pakistani prisoners abroad held in UAE, Saudi

Despite Saudi announcement freeing 2,107 Pakistani prisoners, almost 9,000 remain behind bars in different countries

ISLAMABAD: After a royal announcement during Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman's visit to Islamabad, 2,107 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails got the good news that they would be released soon. Documents available with The Express Tribune show that roughly 2.6 million Pakistanis live in Saudia Arabia, and 3,000 of them are imprisoned in Saudi jails on various charges.

According to the documents, 45 per cent of Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi jails were convicted or accused of drug smuggling, while 15 per cent have theft charges against them, 12 per cent have been charged or convicted of fraud, eight per cent are imprisoned for 'indecency'.

According to the documents, three per cent are accused or convicted of the murder of Saudi citizens, two per cent of fighting, and 15 per cent are serving punishments for various other crimes.



After the Saudi crown prince's announcement of release, only 893 Pakistanis will be left in Saudi jails. According to documents updated just before the Saudi prisoner release deal, in Saudi Arabia 1,337 Pakistanis are imprisoned for drug smuggling, 446 in theft cases, 356 in fraud cases, and 237 in indecent crime cases. According to documents, 89 Pakistanis are facing punishments in murder cases in Saudi jails, 45 are facing punishments in scuffle cases while 451 people are facing punishments in other sorts of criminal cases.

According to the documents, almost 12,000 Pakistanis are imprisoned in jails around the world, with more than 6,500 in the Middle East.

Apart from the 3,000-plus prisoners in Saudi Arabia, there are 2,650 in the UAE, 657 in Oman, 128 in Bahrain, 54 in Qatar, 38 in Kuwait, and three in Yemeni jails. According to public records, 1,842 Pakistanis are also imprisoned in Greek jails, 582 in India, 177 in Afghanistan, 242 in China, 188 in Iran, and 226 are imprisoned in Malaysian jails.

After Saudi crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman's announcement, the federal government has started making efforts for the release of Pakistanis on the foreign-relations level and in this regard, Pakistani embassy in Saudi Arabia has been directed to uptake all possible measures for the return of prisoners. In his video statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi thanking Saudi crown prince and government has directed the release of 2,107 Pakistanis on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has also decided to raise the issue of the release of other Pakistani prisoners abroad with the federal cabinet.



FM Qureshi had also said that last year, Pakistan offered direct legal aid to 121 inmates abroad while $3 million (Rs419.25 million) were provided for the legal facilitation of overseas Pakistanis. He said that for the Middle East, a panel of 10 legal aid lawyers has been put together on the directives of the prime minister and that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has prepared a $4.3 million (Rs600.92 million) summary for the legal aid of Pakistani prisoners overseas which will be approved by the federal cabinet so that all possible help could be extended to Pakistanis imprisoned overseas.

In Great Britain 412 Pakistanis are imprisoned, 54 in the US, 69 in Turkey, 231 in Italy, 211 in Iraq, 218 in Hong Kong, 146 in Spain, 87 in Sri Lanka, 83 in Thailand, 67 in France, 42 in Bangladesh, 47 in South Africa, 36 in Australia, 25 in the Netherlands, 24 in Nepal, 22 in Hungary, 19 each in Norway, Iceland and Denmark, 28 in Germany, 23 in Indonesia, 12 in the Maldives, 15 in Russia, 13 in Scotland, 11 each in Australia and Canada, four each in Argentina, South Korea and Poland, one each in Lebanon, Georgia, Czech Republic, Egypt, and Kazakhstan, two each in Azerbaijan, Ireland, Myanmar, Singapore, six each in Belgium, Philippines, Jordan and Romania, three each in Uganda, Portugal, and Cuba, seven each in Bulgaria and Kenya, 10 each in Japan and Serbia, nine each in Slovakia and Tajikistan jails, five each in Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine, and 12 in Swiss jails.