‘Govt reply in overseas Pakistanis case disappointing’

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Thursday expressed disappointment on reply submitted by the federal government and observed that the reply of government showed that the government had no policy to protect the fundamental rights of the overseas Pakistanis.The families of the migrant workers, represented by Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), had filed a petition in the LHC, lamenting the lack of consular support and assistance provided by the Pakistan government to their own citizens facing executions abroad. The petition also includes families of Pakistanis whose loved ones were recently beheaded abroad.

It was argued in court that the reports submitted by the government, claiming that they provide legal and financial assistance to the detainees are merely guidelines, and not an official policy. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also pointed out that there had been no action on the part of the foreign ministry to drafting such a policy, with no record of implementation. Moreover, he was adamant over the fact that despite the revenue generated from the workforce, the government still failed to protect its citizens abroad. The constitutional duties of the government of Pakistan to uphold the fundamental rights and protect the lives of its citizens were not limited to the geographic boundaries of the country.According to the petition, out of the 8,597 Pakistanis imprisoned abroad, 4,357 are in six Gulf countries, where they are the most deprived of even their fundamental rights.

The judge asked the respondent government to provide record of implementation and JPP to give a list of the shortcoming of the guidelines and consular policies of other states for comparison for the next hearing. At this, the counsel for the government said that these were autonomous countries, where we cannot interfere in their internal affairs. 

In a previous hearing, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah made it clear that it was necessary to know about the proper policy by the government of Pakistan to see if it is in line with international law and to make sure it is uniformly applied across the board.

The judge seeing the reply of the government, said it was the directions of the Supreme Court to provide the legal aid and visit the jails but where is the policy in this regard. The judge said if to visit the jails and provide legal aid abroad is the policy, the government should inform the court that what relief it can provide to its citizens in jails abroad and adjourned the hearing for two weeks.