WEB DESK: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Tuesday that 7,208 Pakistani prisoners have been released from Saudi prisons between 2019 and 2024. The information was shared in a written response to Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur’s query about the progress on the release of Pakistani nationals jailed abroad.
He added that the major releases followed an order by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to Pakistan in 2019 to provide relief from imprisonment to 2,107 Pakistanis from their prisons after a request of the then-government.
In numbers, according to Dar’s breakdown, 2,907 were freed under the consular jurisdiction of the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh and 4,301 under the Consulate General in Jeddah during the five years. He however pointed out that the determination of the precise number of prisoners who benefited from the clemency of the king is hampered by the continuous inflow and outflow, thus making it impossible to have an accurate number of freed prisoners.
The senator has also asked about the number of Pakistani nationals in foreign prisons. In reply, Dar stated that there are about 23,456 Pakistanis under imprisonment in various countries with the maximum concentration in Saudi Arabia (12,156) and UAE (5,292).
Dar informed the House that Pakistan’s foreign ministry was developing a “comprehensive consular policy,” meant to safeguard the rights of its nationals imprisoned outside the country, as part of consultations with concerned stakeholders.
For the intervening period, Pakistan will rely on international arrangements such as Article 36(c) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 allowing consular officers to:
- Visit detained Pakistani nationals
- Communicate with prisoners
- Arrange legal representation when needed.
The foreign minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting its citizens abroad and ensuring their rights are upheld.
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