16,000 Pakistanis imprisoned abroad

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has disclosed the number of Pakistanis imprisoned overseas, presenting the details in the National Assembly.

In a written reply to a question from MNA Shehla Raza, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar revealed that 15,953 Pakistanis are currently jailed in countries across the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

According to the reply, despite prisoner exchange agreements with three countries, the number of Pakistani inmates there stands at 13,852. Saudi Arabia tops the list with the highest number of Pakistani prisoners — 10,279 — despite having such an agreement in place.

The written reply states that there are 3523 Pakistani prisoners in the United Arab Emirates and 50 Pakistani prisoners in Kuwait, while 2100 prisoners are imprisoned in 14 countries with whom there is no agreement to hand over the accused.

According to the Foreign Ministry, there are 581 in Bahrain, 252 in Oman, 599 in Qatar, 459 in Malaysia, Thailand 35 and 22 in Cambodia.

The written reply further stated that there are 81 in Iraq, 81 in Jordan, 12 in Egypt, 27 in Australia, 27 in South Korea and 16 in Japan, while there are one Pakistani imprisonment in the Philippines and Vietnam.