On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly meeting that more than 10,000 Pakistanis are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for various crimes.
“The number of Pakistanis detained in Saudi Arabia for various crimes is 10,279,” Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister, said during the question break while providing details of Pakistani prisoners.
At least 19,997 Pakistanis are in foreign jails, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Talking about the process of repatriation of prisoners, Dar said that emergency travel documents are provided to Pakistani nationals on completion of their sentences if their passports have expired.
“The Pakistani community pays the fines of the prisoners who have completed their sentences,” Dar asserted, adding, “There is no bar to the return of the prisoners to Pakistan.”
According to Dar, Saudi Arabia has agreed to transfer 570 prisoners to Pakistan under the agreement.
According to data obtained from 88 Pakistani missions around the world, a total of 19,997 Pakistanis are in foreign prisons, while 68 are on death row in 10 countries for terrorism, murder and drug trafficking.
Saudi Arabia has the highest number of Pakistanis imprisoned, followed by UAE 5292, Greece 598, Oman 578, Malaysia 463, Turkey 387, Bahrain 371, UK 321, Chengdu 194, Beijing I have 106 prisoners. 84 in Guangzhou, 90 inches in Frankfurt, 63 in Washington, 48 in New York, 17 in Los Angeles and 10 in Australia.
Major charges include illegal immigration/border crossing, overstaying, murder, drug and drug possession/use, working without a work permit, sexual assault and harassment, human trafficking, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, robbery/ Includes theft, embezzlement/fraud. Forgery, possession of counterfeit currency, money laundering, charges of espionage, trafficking (mostly drugs), illegal possession of firearms, cybercrime and fighting/physical assault.