21,406 Pakistanis in Foreign Jails, Saudi Arabia Leads
The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has released new figures showing that 21,406 Pakistani nationals are currently imprisoned in 61 different countries. The numbers, compiled from official sources, highlight that 14 Pakistani embassies have yet to provide complete records, leaving gaps in the overall data.
According to the compiled information, Saudi Arabia tops the chart with 10,423 Pakistani prisoners, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 5,297 and Turkey with 1,437.
In India, there are 738 Pakistanis serving jail terms, while other countries with notable counts include Oman (578), Malaysia (463), Qatar (422), Sri Lanka (112), Afghanistan (85), and South Africa (75).
United States has imprisoned 65 Pakistani citizens with the United States being one of them. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Smaller figures are recorded in the United Kingdom (23), Australia (27), Spain (42), Nepal (19), Bulgaria (11), Denmark (21), Bangladesh (1), Iran (4), and Iraq (40).
There were no detainees linked to Pakistan in several countries including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Rwanda, Senegal, and Singapore.
The Ministry noted that France did not provide any figures, citing privacy regulations. In Japan, there are 16 Pakistanis in prison, but details of six of them remain undisclosed.
Officials stressed that in countries like Saudi Arabia, a large portion of Pakistanis in jail are there simply because they cannot afford to pay imposed fines, preventing their release even after serving their sentences.
