Court order advances release process for 56 prisoners returned from Sri Lanka

ISLAMABAD: A special court in Islamabad has determined the sentences that would apply under Pakistani law to 56 Pakistani prisoners repatriated from Sri Lanka, in a step that could result in the release of most of them once the required administrative process is completed.

Judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan of the Special Court (Control of Narcotic Substances) issued the order on June 24 in proceedings related to the Transfer of Offenders Ordinance, 2002, and the Agreement on the Transfer of Offenders between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The court calculated the sentence applicable to each prisoner under Pakistani law, which now enables the Ministry of Interior to identify those whose Sri Lankan sentences do not align with Pakistan’s legal framework and to issue executive orders for their release.

Counsel for the petitioners, Sulman Zeb, said the prisoners had been brought back to Pakistan in October 2024 after serving different lengths of imprisonment in Sri Lanka. He said that despite their repatriation, they remained stuck in legal uncertainty for several months because the process required under the Transfer of Offenders Ordinance, 2002, to determine their sentences under Pakistani law had not been initiated.

The court’s calculations suggest that most of the repatriated prisoners are likely to qualify for immediate release. They are, however, still in custody while the interior ministry completes the necessary formalities.

Legal team calls ruling significant

Namra Gilani, who leads the legal team at Justice Project Pakistan, said the petitioners include some of the most vulnerable Pakistani nationals returned from abroad. She said the court’s order was an important development toward ensuring that transferred prisoners receive the legal safeguards available under Pakistani law.

Gilani said many of the prisoners come from low-income backgrounds and spent years in jails far from their families before being transferred to Pakistan. She added that the group includes a woman in her late sixties who is suffering from multiple health conditions and whose continued detention has affected her well-being.

Attributing the details to Gilani, another petitioner died last year while waiting for his sentence to be adjusted and was unable to benefit from the legal protections available under Pakistan’s prisoner transfer system.

Speaking about the wider implications of the order, Gilani said the ruling carries importance beyond the 56 prisoners covered in the case. She said that with more than 17,000 Pakistani nationals imprisoned abroad, the decision reinforces Pakistan’s obligations under prisoner transfer arrangements and provides an important framework to ensure that repatriated prisoners can benefit from protections under domestic law without unnecessary administrative delay.

Most come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and spent years in prisons far from their families before being transferred back to Pakistan. Among them is a woman in her late sixties suffering from multiple health conditions, whose continued detention has significantly affected her well-being. Another petitioner tragically passed away last year while awaiting adjustment of his sentence, never living to benefit from the protections afforded under Pakistan's prisoner transfer framework.

Gilani further said that the matter is now before the Ministry of Interior for the next stage of implementation.