1,100 prisoners in Saudi jails to be repatriated: minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Monday announced Saudi Arabia will soon release 1,100 Pakistan nationals languishing in its prisons as an agreement was reached with the kingdom during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to a television programme, Rasheed said Riyadh also offered to free prisoners accused of “serious crimes”.

Most of these prisoners have already served large portions of their sentence.

With Rs1 billion, the government can afford to pay penalties for hundreds of more prisoners who are serving additional time for want of money. The cases of serious offenders will be dealt with separately, the minister announced.

The whole process of the repatriation of these prisoners has been completed, Rasheed said.

Some 30 prisoners charged with murder and manslaughter cannot be released. They have been sentenced to death by local courts, he said.

In 2019, during his maiden official visit to Pakistan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at the request of Prime Minister Imran, had ordered the release of about 2,100 prisoners from the prisons. The order, however, could not be fully executed and many workers are still languishing in prisons.

The fate of thousands of workers locked up in jails across the Middle East is a sensitive issue with a perception the prisoners are mostly poor labourers who have no real legal recourse.

Huge numbers of people travel to the Middle East every year, with many working on construction sites or as domestic helpers. The remittances they send back are vital for the country’s dollar-starved economy.

During Prime Minister Imran’s latest visit to the Kingdom, Riyadh and Islamabad also signed an agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners.

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