After reviewing the complete list of Pakistani prisoners incarcerated in Indian jails, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked the Interior Ministry and Foreign Office to provide him with details of Pakistani prisoners in foreign jails across the world.
Sources suggest he gave these directives before leaving for his trip to Tajikistan, as he believed there were reports of Pakistanis being detained in foreign countries who didn’t receive assistance from back home. He also added that it was a part of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s manifesto to help Pakistanis living abroad who were facing legal problems.
Pakistan’s embassies across the world have been directed to gather complete details of Pakistanis jailed in these countries. The details asked were as follows: name of the prisoner, name of prisoner’s father, crime the accused committed, duration of their sentence, and how much time remaining in their punishment.
The authorities have been given one month to gather the details. According to sources within the PML-N, the PM wants to provide legal assistance to all the Pakistanis jailed abroad.
According to a report released by International Labour Organisation entitled ‘Labour Migration from Pakistan in 2015’, a total of 14,628 Pakistani migrant workers have been jailed in different countries during the last 15 years (2000 to 2015).
The report’s break down of the number of Pakistani workers detained in overseas countries is as follows:
- 5,171 in Abu Dhabi.
- 2,177 in Muscat.
- 2,927 in Kuwait.
- 1,621 in Jeddah.
- 400 in Baghdad.
- 336 in Doha.
- 57 in Seoul.
The trend of workers migrating to foreign countries is on the rise and many fly abroad without proper verification of papers.
The report reveals that a total of 932,051 workers are present in different parts of overseas countries without proper verification. Moreover, 48,160 of them had been deported back to Pakistan.
It is important to note, however, that Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz informed the National Assembly on April 19 that 11,764 Pakistanis were currently detained or imprisoned abroad.
Aziz said all diplomatic missions abroad were providing the imprisoned and detained Pakistanis with necessary legal and financial assistance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-administered Pakistan’s Community Welfare and Education Fund was also being used to pay their lawyers’ fees, fines and the cost of repatriation after the completion of their sentences or release from detention.
The adviser also informed the House that apart from Iran, India, and the Gulf States, no Pakistani fishermen were imprisoned elsewhere.
The Senate was informed last year that some 2,400 were jailed in Saudi prisons alone. Since then, it is believed these figures have increased.
China is another country where it is estimated that more than 200 Pakistanis are languishing in prisons for various charges.
Earlier in January, at least 50 Pakistanis were jailed in Bahrain for demanding the salary.
According to sources, the Pakistani workers had filed a petition in Bahrain’s court to get a payment of their work. The Bahrain Court had given a verdict in favour of workers but the authorities concerned moved against the verdict and got them detained.
Many lawyers in Pakistan have noted that Pakistani migrant workers are vulnerable prey for local agents who use them as drug mules, forcing them to travel with ingested narcotics to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Once they get caught, they face execution for narcotics offences. Given Saudi Arabia’s record of executing prisoners, it is imperative that the government minimise these risks for those seeking employment abroad by prosecuting criminal local agents.
To preserve the international image of Pakistan, it is crucial that there exists an approved migration policy in Pakistan that verifies the process through which the workers are sent abroad. It will ultimately lower the rate of unauthorised workers going abroad with fake papers as well.