Saudi authorities have beheaded yet another Pakistani citizen, Mohammad Imran, in Shumaisi prison of Jeddah in blatant disregard for norms of justice. When the poor youth from Chichawatni traveled to Saudi Arabia in August 2011 for a labour job, he might have taken the foreign land as the proverbial greener pasture. Upon landing at the airport in Jeddah, however, he was arrested for drug crimes and sentenced to death unheard. Many people in search for better lives abroad fall prey to human trafficking, forced labour and ill-treatment in detention overseas. Authoritarian justice system in Gulf and Saudi Arabia often come to the help of local employers. The justice system of Saudi Arabia is hostile, lopsided and draconian. Prisoners are sentenced to rigorous jail terms after summary trials conducted in Arabic, without the provision of a lawyer and translator to defendants.
Up to 11,000 Pakistanis are detained in foreign jails, according to the Justice Project Pakistan. Of that lot, over 7,000 are in the Middle East, and of them, Saudi Arabia has been detaining 3,400 Pakistani prisoners for years. Very few lucky ones return home as once detained, they are hardly given any access to their relatives and friends. No one knows about the trial and the date of their release even if they have completed their jail term. Side by side, executions also go on, and in 2019 alone, Saudi Authorities have executed 26 Pakistanis, including a woman. The last mockery of justice by the Saudi authorities is to not return the bodied of the executed people. It has yet to be seen if the Saudi government will return the body of Imran to his family so that it gets a respectable farewell.
One may not forget the impassioned plea by our Prime Minister Imran Khan to visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman earlier this year about the release of thousands of Pakistanis detained in the kingdom. The prince, who instantly promised to look into the matter, has seemingly forgotten his words since then. There has been little progress on this front.
It is the primary responsibility of the foreign affairs department to protect the interests of our people around the world, especially in Saudi Arabia. The ministry runs 114 missions across the globe but they hardly help any Pakistanis in troubles. This is a great number which involves huge money to run these missions. Pakistan must work to initiate a consular protection policy for Pakistanis in the kingdom and other Gulf countries. *