RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday beheaded a Pakistani man for heroin smuggling, the 13th prisoner from Pakistan to be executed in the kingdom for drug trafficking since mid-October.
His beheading in the western Mecca province brings to 87 the number of Saudis and foreigners executed this year in the oil-flush state, according to an AFP tally.
Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest execution tolls.
Sadruddin Saeedullah Khan was caught smuggling "a large amount of heroin," the Interior Ministry said.
In addition to amphetamines and other drugs, Saudi authorities seized almost 18 kilogrammes of raw heroin during the Islamic calendar year that ended in October, according to the ministry.
The Gulf has become an increasingly important market for illicit drugs in recent years, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said.
Rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are also punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Sharia Law.
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Involvement of Pakistani origin individual in exporting illicit narcotics into Saudi Arabia yet again demonstrates the dangers of granting visa’s to those originating in Pakistan.
India must learn lesson from Saudi Arabia’s Pakistani narcotic smuggling problems. Thus in order to prevent the illicit narcotics joining the list of other unwelcome exports from Pakistan into India; namely terrorists, polio virus and counterfeit Indian currency notes, it would be more prudent for India to forthwith stop granting visa’s to Pakistanis to visit India and simultaneously prohibit Indian’s from visiting Pakistan.
India should not permit herself to be swayed by sympathy inducing arguments about the need for maintaining people to people contact, helping divided families and using visit visas as confidence building measure to foster peace.
This is shocking beyond words. 13th in 5 weeks. Why cant the agencies in pakistan stop people from boarding flights to SA when such drugs are hidden in guts of human bodies. I get a feeling that the airport authorities if not all at least some are in cahoots with the smugglers. Some body please save these souls. They are gullible people.
The silence of the Pakistani govt whilst the citizens are executed one by one is shocking. It seems if you have pakistani passport the value of life is nothing but if you have a British or USA passport and get in trouble overseas you will get full consular and diplomatic support. How many Europeans, British, USA, Canadian, Australian citizens are executed overseas? Nil? Yes.
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Where is EU, UN and Ban ki Moon?
Can Saudis atleast give our govt some valid evidence of the crime committed and allow pakistani officials to interrogate such criminals so we can resolve this issue within Pakistan for once and all. Statement from Ministry of Interior is not enpugh as they have a authoriatrian rule in country and perceptions exists of lack of free courts in the country.
Living their fun life of savagery, these saudis probably dont know world has advanced beyond medieval ages.