ISLAMABAD – Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif on Monday arrived in Pakistan with the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners at the top of his agenda.
The visit of the Saudi minister comes more than a week after the kingdom’s cabinet approved the draft of a prisoner exchange agreement with Pakistan.
In May 2021, former special assistant to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari revealed Islamabad and Riyadh had signed a prisoner transfer agreement to repatriate over 2,000 Pakistani prisoners languishing in Saudi Arabia’s jails.
A statement issued by the ministry said that matters related to Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and other important issues, including the regional situation, will be discussed in the meeting.
Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed received his Saudi counterpart and his delegation at the Nur Khan Air Base Rawalpindi.
Naif is scheduled to hold a meeting with Sheikh Rashid later in the day, after which he will meet President Dr. Arif Ali and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Talking to media on Sunday, Sheikh Rashid said that brotherly Islamic countries are being contacted to bring back Pakistani imprisoned in those countries.
Ahmed said Pakistan had already secured the release of many prisoners from Turkey, adding that officials from Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait would also be visiting the country soon, Arab News reported.
Saudi Arabia approves prisoners swap agreement with Pakistan
