Jailed abroad

Buying a one-way ticket to any country outside Pakistan is usually seen as a big achievement. Factors like economic uncertainty, political instability, and a deteriorating security situation have forced hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis to leave the country and settle abroad. But life in a foreign state is not rosy for some people who often find themselves guilty of breaking the law of the new country. 

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) – an advocacy group that has been working to help vulnerable prisoners in and outside Pakistan – has launched a report with a shocking statistic: over 14,000 Pakistanis are languishing in foreign jails across the world.

 

Fifty-eight per cent of these prisoners are in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (two Arab countries that have the strictest rules and that often show no leniency when it comes to awarding punishments to those found guilty of any crime). The UAE has around 5,292 Pakistani prisoners, an increase of 230 per cent as compared to the September 2022 data when around 1,600 Pakistanis were in prison. Over 3,000 Pakistani prisoners are in Saudi Arabia. Last year, around seven Pakistani prisoners were executed in Saudi Arabia. In Greece, around 811 Pakistanis are in jails, imprisoned after they were found guilty of immigration-related crimes/oversights.

The JPP says that in some places “many of those facing harsh sentences for drug crimes are victims of trafficking themselves, coerced and threatened into smuggling narcotics.” In 2018, Pakistanis witnessed a tragic story of lost hope when Zulfiqar Ali, a terminally ill man in his 50s, passed away in an Indonesian jail. Zulfiqar was arrested in 2004 and sentenced to death on drug charges. But there was more to the story. Zulfiqar’s trial was speedy and did not provide him an opportunity to prove his innocence. His interrogation was carried out in a foreign language he couldn’t understand, and he was ultimately forced to confess. Zulfiqar’s plight provided many human rights groups to speak for the thousands of Zulfiqars languishing in foreign jails with no access to legal help, and without much help from the Pakistan government.

It is also important to mention that since Pakistan is a poor country, its citizens are rarely seen as people worthy of any respect or dignity. Families of these prisoners run from pillar to post to convince authorities to do something about their loved ones. Pakistan has to give importance to this issue. Officials at embassies should be trained to assist Pakistanis who see themselves trapped in a complex legal system. Embassies should also come up with a less complicated way of renewing people’s visas so that they don’t have to spend time behind bars for something that can be easily resolved. Pakistan's government has to start treating its citizens with respect. It must not abandon its people in jail and take the steps necessary to provide the legal aid they need.