1,100 prisoners in Saudi Arabia jails will return to Pakistan soon, says Sheikh Rasheed

Local media while quoting Sheikh Rasheed reported that Saudi Arabia has also expressed willingness for the return of Pakistanis imprisoned for serious crimes.

“These prisoners have already spent most of their times in jail. If Pakistan receives Rs. 1 billion of aid, several more prisoners who have to pay small fines can be released from Saudi jails,” he said adding that serious cases will be dealt with separately.

The interior minister added that there are around 30 Pakistanis who are serving jails for major offenses including murder and drug offences.

“All these 30 Pakistani prisoners will not be released as they have been awarded death sentence by a Saudi court,” he said.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s three-day visit to Saudi Arabia.