At a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis last week, it was revealed that over 17,000 Pakistani nationals are currently imprisoned abroad, with most of them detained in Middle East countries. While this number in itself is enough to raise a few eyebrows — with India having around 10,000 nationals detained abroad and Bangladesh 9,000 — supplementary introspection is necessary yet amiss. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to provide further details about the reasons for arrests, unnecessarily extending the measures for due process, and expedition where possible.
According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, “To enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in accordance with law is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be …” But unfortunately, many Pakistani nationals remain stagnating in international prisons regardless of the nature and gravity of their crimes. Many of these victims are often jailed due to petty crimes, while others are victims of unreliable prosecutions and sometimes even bigotry.
Regardless of the reasons for imprisonment, the state is duty-bound to provide consular assistance to those imprisoned. But lax implementation of consular protection laws coupled with inadequate data deprives them of their rights. These are people with families waiting back home, sometimes spending years stuck in bureaucratic processes hoping for a resolution.
Amongst the large number of prisoners, there are some who are even cleared for repatriation by host governments but incompetence on our end keeps them trapped. It is high time that overseas prisoners were provided access to consular officers. The Senate committee has now directed the Foreign Ministry to produce comprehensive data regarding convicted and under-trial overseas Pakistanis within 15 days, a directive which must be followed through for the sake of providing basic human rights.
