Report on Pakistanis in Saudi jails submitted to LHC

LAHORE: Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-profit organisation working for prisoners’ rights, on Monday furnished a report before the Lahore High Court pertaining to ordeal of Pakistani citizens jailed in Saudi Arabia.

The court was hearing a petition filed on behalf of 10 Pakistani citizens detained in Saudi Arabia. The report said the detained Pakistanis suffered rampant due to process violations, such as long period of detention without charge or trial, no access to legal assistance, pressure from the authorities to sign confessions and accept predetermined prison sentences, and ineffective translation services for defendants in the Saudi criminal justice system.

It said the prisoners were doubly vulnerable, considering they were treated worse than any other nationality and were the highest number of foreign nationals executed in Saudi Arabia. The report revealed that so far, 67 Pakistanis had been executed in Saudi Arabia since October 2014, eight of them just this year. It said the families were yet to receive their bodies. As of now, 2,795 Pakistani citizens remain detained in Saudi Arabia, it added.

The report revealed that 9,360 Pakistanis were detained in prisons all over the world, with 5,798 in Gulf countries alone. Barrister Sarah Belal of JPP apprised the court that the federal cabinet on 28th March, 2018, granted approval for the signing of an agreement for the transfer of convicted individuals between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. She said since the treaty was directly related to the matter in question, it should be submitted to the court.

Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali directed a federal law officer to submit the treaty to the court after being signed by the both governments. Hearing was adjourned for a date to be fixed by registrar office.

Meanwhile, Ms Belal congratulated the government on negotiating the agreement with Saudi Arabia to help in protecting some of its most vulnerable citizens. Aleem case: The Lahore High Court on Monday sought detailed report from the National Accountability Bureau on a petition moved by PTI’s leader Aleem Khan challenging alleged harassment by the bureau for investigation into his housing schemes.

A division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan was hearing the petition and put off hearing until April 12. Aleem Khan had questioned an inquiry initiated by the NAB against his housing scheme-Vision Developers. Previously Advocates Khwaja Ahmad Tariq Rahim and Azhar Siddique represented the petitioner before the bench. They contended that the NAB had opened inquiry against the petitioner’s housing scheme thrice, however, each time closed them after finding no evidence. They said under the relevant law an inquiry closed three times could not be opened again. They said the NAB violated the stay order and continued the inquiry against the petitioner only on political consideration.

NAB counsel argued that Aleem Khan had not appeared before the investigating team even for once. At this, the petitioner’s counsel stated that the court had suspended the summons issued by the NAB. The bureau’s counsel pleaded the court to withdraw the stay granted to the petitioner.