ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of External Affairs in a report to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday revealed that about 23,456 Pakistani nationals are currently incarcerated in prisons abroad.
A report was submitted by State Department officials to the Human Rights Committee in which it was revealed that Pakistani citizens are imprisoned in more than 72 different countries around the world.
Among these individuals, 15,587 have been convicted, while 7,869 are still awaiting trial. The highest concentration of prisoners languish in prisons in the Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia tops the list with 12,156 Pakistani prisoners, followed by the UAE with 5,292, Qatar with 338, Iraq with 519 and Bahrain with 450 detainees.
A significant number of these detainees migrated to Saudi Arabia for work opportunities, with more than 2.1 million Pakistanis currently living in the country.
The committee was informed that Pakistan has concluded prisoner exchange agreements with ten nation-states, including Azerbaijan, Iran and China. Meanwhile, the agreement with Türkiye has yet to be finalized.
Under the prisoner exchange agreement, convicts imprisoned abroad have the option of serving their sentences in Pakistan, rather than in overseas prisons.
The chairman of the committee, Walid Iqbal, said that while such agreements are usually made between governments, their purpose is for the benefit of citizens. He complained about the lack of awareness among citizens about their own rights.
The Committee unanimously agreed on the importance of transparency in these matters. They directed officials from relevant ministries including Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD) to make this information easily available on the official platform.
The aim of this measure is to facilitate easy access and use of these resources by human rights defenders, lawyers and families of imprisoned persons.
