Govt paid Rs16 mln in fines to release 271 Pakistanis imprisoned abroad

One prisoner in China who had completed his sentence, was released after the payment of fine of Rs1.6 million.

As many as 271 Pakistanis, who had completed their sentences on petty charges in the jails of different countries but whose release was subject to their fines being paid, have been released after the payment of Rs16 million by the Pakistani government, announced the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

During a recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control, the Foreign Office stated that 77 prisoners in Dubai who had completed their sentences on petty charges but were not being released due to non-payment of fines, were freed between May and June 2013.

An amount of approximately Rs8.8 million sanctioned from the government account was placed at the disposal of authorities in Dubai for payment of the fines.

The committee was also informed that in April 2013, the government incurred expenditure for payments of lawyer's fees for the release and repatriation of 14 Pakistani fishermen from India.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid more than Rs1.3 million for one-way air tickets of 32 destitute Pakistanis for their repatriation from Kuala Lumpur in April, 2013.

One Pakistani prisoner in China, who had completed his 5-year sentence in May, 2013 for travelling on fake documents was released after the payment of fine of Rs1.6 million from the government exchequer.

Another Pakistani languishing in a prison in Nepal for carrying fake Indian currency, was freed in June 2013 after the government paid his fine equivalent to Rs461,386.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid a stupendous amount of over Rs3.8 million in May 2013 to secure the release of four Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia, who had completed their imprisonment on various petty charges.

During the year 2010-11, 92 Pakistani prisoners/detainees, (90 in the Gulf countries and two in Malaysia) got released the government paid for their fines and legal aid.

During 2011-12, Pakistan's missions in Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, secured the release of 30 prisoners after payment of fines, who had completed their sentences and had not committed heinous crimes, but were still in jail due to non-payment of fines, the committee was told.