About 20,000 Pakistanis are imprisoned in overseas jails, NA told

The National Assembly session has been informed that about half of the approximately 20,000 Pakistani citizens in overseas jails were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.

Dar, who also serves as the deputy prime minister, providing details of Pakistani inmates during the question break told National Assembly that the number of Pakistanis detained in Saudi Arabia for various crimes stands at 10,279.

The Foreign Ministry data suggests that at least 19,997 Pakistanis are languishing in foreign jails.

About the process of repatriation of the prisoners, Ishaq Dar said that upon the completion of their sentences, emergency travel documents were provided to the Pakistani nationals if their passports had expired.

He added that the Pakistani community paid the fines of prisoners who have completed their sentences. Dar asserted there is no obstacle in the repatriation of prisoners to Pakistan.

According to Dar, Saudi Arabia has agreed to transfer 570 prisoners to Pakistan under the agreement.

A total of 19,997 Pakistanis are in foreign jails, while 68 were on death row in 10 countries on charges of terrorism, murder and drug trafficking, as per data obtained from 88 Pakistani missions across the world.