Islamabad:
Senate’s standing committee for overseas Pakistanis and the development of human resources considered Friday about the increasing number of Pakistani prisoners abroad.
Shocking details emerged during the meeting, led by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, regarding Pakistani prisoners abroad. The committee criticized the officials for providing insufficient information about individuals.
According to data from the ministry, approx. 417 capture judgments in China, 598 in Greece, 463 in Malaysia, 738 in India, 578 in Oman, 422 in Qatar, 10,432 in Saudi -Arabia and 5,297 in UAE, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada.
He noted that the data reflects the ministry’s efforts to repatriate prisoners.
Officials assessed the committee that the prisoner’s repatriation agreements have been completed by 11 countries, while the discussions are ongoing with 15 others.
The committee recommended that the ministry give detailed profiling of the prisoners to understand the nature of the crimes they committed. It also asked from Community Welfare Attachés (CWAS) about how often they meet with the prisoners.
Senator Kazim Ali Shah pointed out that no welfare services have been expanded to prisoners from Sindh. The committee decided to review quarterly results of society’s welfare attaches and recommended to allow them to hire local Diaspora members to more effectively expand welfare services to Pakistani prisoners abroad.
In order to carry out special courts established to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, the Ministry informed the committee that Punjab has passed the relevant legislation.
However, Senator Shahadat Awan pointed out that although the action was adopted in 2024, no data has yet been provided on the number of cases dealt with in Punjab or in any other province.
