Detention: LHC seeks consular policy on Pakistanis imprisoned abroad

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Monday to come up with a consular policy for the protection of Pakistanis imprisoned abroad.

The court ordered the federal government to formulate a policy in this regard and submit it at the next hearing.

Some of the families of migrant workers had filed a petition through the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) against the lack of consular support from the Pakistani government for its death-row citizens in Gulf countries and whose loved ones had recently been beheaded in Saudi Arabia but they were yet to receive the bodies.

At a previous hearing, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had observed that it was important to know if the government’s policy was in line with international laws and that it was uniformly applied. The government had then submitted a report claiming that it had provided legal and financial assistance to Pakistani prisoners. However, the judge had observed that the report merely carried comments and not the policy.

The court had directed the counsel for the petitioners, the deputy attorney general and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation additional director general to meet the MoFA secretary and discuss an overarching policy for the prisoners. The judge remarked that the Pakistani citizens’ right to fair trial must be ensured.

The JPP said the government must provide legal aid to Pakistanis imprisoned in the Middle East.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2015.