KSA freed over 7,000 Pakistanis in five years

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia freed a total of 7,208 Pakistani prisoners between 2019 and 2024, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar informed the Senate on Tuesday.

During Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan in February 2019, then prime minister Imran Khan requested for the release of Pakistani prisoners. Days after the historic visit, the crown prince ordered the release of a large number of Pakistani prisoners.

In a written response on Tuesday, Dar, who also holds the portfolio of deputy prime minister, apprised the upper house of the parliament that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing a comprehensive consular policy through stakeholder consultations for Pakistanis imprisoned in foreign jails.

He added that while the policy is being formulated, Pakistan continues to protect its citizens abroad through established international frameworks. “Our consular officers visit Pakistani nationals, who are in prison or in detention and arrange legal representation for them,” said the foreign minister.

Giving a breakdown of the prisoners released from the Saudi jails, Dar said that 545 inmates were released in 2019, 892 in 2020, 916 in 2021, 1,331 in 2022, 1,394 in 2023, and 2,130 in 2024. Dar further informed the house that it was difficult to ascertain the actual number of prisoners released from foreign jails due to the continuous influx of inmates.

Currently, over 23,456 Pakistani nationals are serving jail terms in different countries across the globe, he added. There were 12,156 Pakistani nationals in Saudi jails, 5,292 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 811 in Greece and 338 in Qatar.

Most of these prisoners had settled illegally in foreign countries, while other Pakistani nationals were imprisoned for minor crimes.