ISLAMABAD – Fromer prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan expressed his gratitude on Wednesday to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the release of thousands of Pakistani prisoners, according to his legal counsel.
This statement came a day after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar informed the Senate that Saudi Arabia had released 7,208 Pakistani prisoners between 2019 and 2024.
During Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan in February 2019, then-prime minister Khan had requested the release of Pakistani prisoners. Shortly after the visit, the Crown Prince ordered the release of a significant number of Pakistani detainees.
In his briefing to the Senate, Dar, who also serves as deputy prime minister, shared that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on a comprehensive consular policy for Pakistani citizens imprisoned abroad, involving consultations with various stakeholders.
He mentioned that while the policy is still under development, Pakistan remains committed to protecting its citizens abroad under international frameworks. “Our consular officers regularly visit Pakistani detainees and ensure legal representation for them,” the foreign minister added.
Dar also provided a breakdown of the releases, revealing that 545 prisoners were freed in 2019, 892 in 2020, 916 in 2021, 1,331 in 2022, 1,394 in 2023, and 2,130 in 2024. He further noted the difficulty in confirming the total number of prisoners freed from foreign jails due to the ongoing arrival of new detainees.
Currently, over 23,456 Pakistani nationals are serving prison sentences in various countries, with 12,156 detained in Saudi Arabia, 5,292 in the UAE, 811 in Greece, and 338 in Qatar. Many of these individuals had entered foreign countries illegally, while others were incarcerated for minor offenses.
