The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Tuesday took serious notice of alleged negligence by Foreign Office for not securing the release of three Pakistanis who despite paying the ‘blood money’ to the heirs of those murdered were still facing death penalty in Saudi Arabia. The Senate Standing Committee met here at Foreign Office with Senator Talha Mahmood in the chair.
Three Pakistanis, Rahmul Wahab, Abdul Rahman and Bashir Afridi were charged with murdering three people in Saudi Arabia in 1999 and since then they had been facing death sentence. The committee learnt that in May 2008, an amount for Rs 4 million was paid families of the victims as ‘diyat’ or blood money. The relatives of 3 Pakistanis detained in the Saudi Arabia told the committee that the Foreign Office delaying to attest the agreement inked between them and heirs of killed person.
Additional Secretary (Middle East) from the Foreign Office (FO) Muhammad Aslam apprised the committee that FO had summoned Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan in this regard. “We have requested the Saudi Ambassador not to execute the detained Pakistanis till the conclusion of negotiations for their release through diplomatic channel,” Aslam said. He told the committee that Saudi ambassador had assured the FO of his full cooperation regarding release of jailed men.
He, however, told the committee that the till copy of said agreement attested by Judicial Magistrate and Foreign Office was not provided to Saudi Authorities, the arrested men could not be released as per Saudi laws. The Chair reprimanded DG of the attestation branch at FO for negligence. The committee chairman also directed the FO to get release a person illegally languishing in Saudi Jail despite Saudi court’s acquittal orders of March 22, 2011.
Meanwhile, the committee also took notice of three Pakistanis captured by Somali pirates near Egypt some eight months ago. Later addressing to press conference, Senator Talha Mahmood urged the government to play its due role for the release of detained persons.
