The sources say that over 2,107 Pakistanis are languishing in Saudi jails including women and juveniles for many years and previous report of ministry of foreign affairs submitted to the LHC revealed that only 579 Pakistani prisoners have been released from Saudi Arabia and rest are still there.
LAHORE: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Feb 28th, 2020) The Lahore High Court has sought updated list of Pakistanis repatriated from Saudi jails from Ministry of Foreign Affairs on petition moved by Justice Project Pakistan.
Justice Ayesha A.Malik of the LHC has passed the order and directed the government to come up with the report on efforts made to ensure safe repatriation of the prisoners since the promise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salam for their immediate release.
Over 2,107 Pakistanis are languishing in Saudi jails including women and juveniles for many years. Justice Project Pakistan’s Executive Director and senior lawyer Sarah Belal appeared before the court on behalf of the Pakistani citizens and informed the court about Pakistani prisoners who are on death row in Gulf states. She asked the court to order the government to ensure release of Pakistani citizens facing execution in jails across the Gulf countries. Justice Malik directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit report on repatriation of citizens from Saudi jails and adjourned the hearing for a month.
Last year on November 12, a list of 579 Pakistani prisoners released from Saudi Arabia was submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Lahore High Court. An analysis of that list revealed that less than five percent of those prisoners had returned after the crown prince’s announcement. The rest had been repatriated prior to that.
A research by Justice Project Pakistan shows that the number of overseas prisoners has increased by 26% since 2014. An increase in the number of Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi Arabia was also recorded during the same period. According to documents submitted earlier by the Ministry of Interior in the Lahore High Court, nearly 11,000 Pakistanis are languishing in foreign jails. These destitute Pakistanis face the harshest punishments due to their lack of understanding of and assistance with the legal process, incapability to communicate directly with the court, and inability to produce evidence from Pakistan in their defence. Despite these circumstances, there is no consular policy in place and the fate of imprisoned Pakistanis rests at the discretion of individual embassies.
Justice Project Pakistan Executive Director Sarah Belal says, “the lack of clarity on the repatriation of prisoners from Saudi Arabia is disappointing,”.
“Ramazan is less than two months away and it is an opportunity for the government to speed up efforts to bring back these Pakistanis who have been waiting for the fulfillment of the promise made by the crown prince for more than a year now,” she added.
