Daily Times

Sir: Over the last three weeks six Pakistanis have been executed in Saudi Arabia for allegedly being part of a drug smuggling ring. As is customary in Saudi Arabia, they were beheaded. It is shocking that the Pakistani government has not strongly protested the execution of its citizens and did not demand their extradition or that they be tried in Pakistan under Pakistani law. Human rights groups and the UN report that the trials were almost completely perfunctory and, as is usually the case in Saudi Arabia, public records of the trials are unavailable. It is unknown if the accused even had defence lawyers. Some reports mention that they confessed but it is fairly well known that in Saudi Arabia many confessions are obtained through torture.

Pakistanis are a substantial immigrant minority in Saudi Arabia and they are treated like social undesirables. Exploitation and abuse are common. For all we know these six men were innocent but, being Pakistani, were presumed guilty before they were tried. Still our government continues to insist that a country that treats our citizens like lepers and kills them with alacrity is an ally. Is this the kind of spineless acquiescence that $ 1.5 billion is supposed to buy? Pakistan must strongly protest these executions and demand that the evidence against the men be made public. Saudi Arabia should no longer be allowed to treat Pakistanis like a lower species.

AFRAH KHAN

Islamabad