56 Pakistanis face legal limbo after repatriation
Fifty-six Pakistani nationals, convicted in Sri Lanka on drug trafficking charges and handed sentences ranging from 75 to 200 years' rigorous imprisonment along with heavy fines, remain in legal uncertainty after being repatriated to Pakistan under a prisoner exchange treaty.
The inmates, currently held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, have spent the past two to three years awaiting clarity on whether they will be retried under Pakistani law or continue to serve the sentences awarded by Sri Lankan courts under stringent anti-narcotics legislation.
Among the prisoners is a female convict, Faiza Ali Qadir, who was sentenced by a Sri Lankan court to seven consecutive life termsamounting to a total of 175 years' imprisonment.
Under Sri Lankan law, each sentence begins after the completion of the previous one, in contrast to Pakistan where life imprisonment is typically considered as 25 years and sentences often run concurrently, with remissions significantly reducing time served.
Other prisoners include Abbas Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Tayyab, Muhammad Kashif, Khawar Sardar and Abdul Kashif, who were convicted by Sri Lankan sessions courts between 2019 and 2022. Following the bilateral prisoner transfer agreement, they were brought back to Pakistan but remain without a definitive legal pathway.
Advocate Shan Zeb Khan, counsel for two of the prisoners, told Express that all 56 individuals are currently before the Anti-Narcotics Court in Islamabad, presided over by Judge Raja Jawad Abbas. However, he noted that the court cannot proceed with a fresh trial unless formally authorised through a notification by the federal Ministry of Law.
Although the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed that the cases be taken up, the absence of the required notification has stalled proceedings. Legal counsel has indicated plans to approach both the Ministry of Law and the IHC through a constitutional petition to expedite the matter.
The petition will argue that all Pakistani citizens are entitled to be tried under the "law of the land", seeking retrials in accordance with Pakistan's anti-narcotics laws.
If granted, such retrials could nullify the lengthy sentences imposed by Sri Lankan courts, as Pakistani law mandates concurrent sentencing rather than consecutive terms.
Lawyers further contend that several prisoners were convicted in Sri Lanka for possessing relatively small quantities of narcoticssuch as 500 gramswhich under Pakistani law would carry significantly lighter sentences of one to one-and-a-half years, terms many of the inmates have already served.
The legal team has stated that it will intensify efforts next week to challenge the convictions and secure retrials, with case files already transferred. The Anti-Narcotics Force Islamabad is expected to prosecute the cases once formal approval is granted.