Islamabad: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the release of 7,208 Pakistani prisoners from Saudi Arabian jails between 2019 and 2024.
The figures come after an announcement made during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s historic visit to Pakistan in February 2019, where 2,100 Pakistani nationals were agreed to be released.
In a written reply to the Senate, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar provided a detailed breakdown of the release data.
He said that 545 prisoners were released in 2019, followed by 892 in 2020, 916 in 2021, 1331 in 2022, 1394 in 2023 and 2130 in 2024. Accurately determine the total number of amnesty beneficiaries.
Of the released prisoners, 4,301 were under the jurisdiction of the Pakistani Consulate General in Jeddah, while 2,907 were under the jurisdiction of the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh.
The Foreign Minister also drew attention to the wider issue of Pakistanis imprisoned abroad and revealed that currently around 23,456 Pakistanis are imprisoned in various foreign countries. Saudi Arabia has the highest number of prisoners (12,156), followed by the United Arab Emirates (5,292), Greece (811) and Qatar (338). Dar highlighted that the Ministry of External Affairs is in the process of compiling 10 years of data on imprisoned Pakistanis for a more comprehensive review.
The release of the prisoners is seen as part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts for the welfare of Pakistani citizens abroad, particularly in the Middle East and the consular services.
In this regard, the Ministry of External Affairs is also working on a comprehensive consular protection policy which is expected to address the legal and welfare challenges faced by Pakistani nationals imprisoned abroad.
