The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that around half of the 20,000 Pakistani nationals currently detained in overseas prisons are in Saudi Arabia for various crimes.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, revealed during the question break that a total of 10,279 Pakistanis are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. The figure is part of a wider total of 19,997 Pakistani nationals detained in foreign prisons, according to Foreign Ministry data.
Dar provided details on the prisoner repatriation process, saying emergency travel documents are issued to those whose passports have expired at the end of their sentence. He also said that the Pakistani community contributes to paying the fines of prisoners who have served their sentences.
“There is no obstacle in repatriating prisoners to Pakistan,” Dar assured, adding that Saudi Arabia had agreed to transfer 570 prisoners to Pakistan under a bilateral agreement.
According to the latest figures obtained from 88 Pakistani diplomatic missions around the world, a total of 68 Pakistanis are on death row in 10 countries, accused of terrorism, murder and drug trafficking, among others. The data also highlighted the major charges against overseas Pakistanis, such as illegal immigration, drug possession, murder, human trafficking and various forms of assault.
While Saudi Arabia has the largest share of imprisoned Pakistanis, other countries have significant numbers, including the United Arab Emirates (5,292), Greece (598) and Oman (578). Additional details provided by Dar show a breakdown of nationals detained in other countries, including Malaysia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, with many facing serious charges ranging from fraud and money laundering money for espionage and smuggling.
