'Over 2,400 Pakistani prisoners freed from Saudi Arabia, UAE'

More than 100 Pakistanis also released from jails in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iraq

ISLAMABAD: More than 2,400 Pakistani prisoners have been released from jails in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the past year due to the efforts of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

"Pakistan has secured the release of 1,245 prisoners from Saudi Arabia and 1,200 more from UAE during the first year of the PTI-led government, which is an unprecedented figure," an official of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OPHED) told APP.     

When the PTI government came to power, he said, there were 3,300 Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi jails, while 2,521 were imprisoned in the UAE.

"In the one year of this government, around 38 per cent of Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia and 48 per cent in UAE have been set free," he added.

51,674 under trial prisoners detained in 98 jails, SC told

The official said the government had also extended financial and legal assistance to a total of 2,559 Pakistanis imprisoned in Middle Eastern countries for minor crimes.

"Apart from Saudi Arabia and UAE, a total of 55 Pakistani prisoners were released from jails in Oman, 18 in Kuwait, 17 in Bahrain, 14 in Qatar, and 10 in Iraq."

The ministry, the official added, had also arranged the repatriation of 320 Pakistanis stranded in camps in Malaysia, 1,600 passengers who were stuck in Thailand due to the airspace closure, 28 drivers from Iraq, and more than five children who had been smuggled to the Middle East for immoral purposes.