ISLAMABAD: Welco­ming the finalisation of an agreement on the transfer of offenders between Islamabad and Riyadh, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday expressed the hope that a large number of Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia would be repatriated to the country under this framework.

The prime minister also condemned the Houthi militia attacks targeted towards Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for the kingdom’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The prime minister stated this during his meeting with Saudi Minister for Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef who had arrived in Islamabad on a day-long visit on the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said an official handout issued by the PM Office.

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet headed by King Salman bin Abdul Aziz had last month reportedly approved the draft of prisoner exchange agreement with Pakistan under which the convicted prisoners will be transferred between the

two countries. The Saudi cabinet had also approved draft agreements on cooperation against crimes and a document to finalise a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan on illicit anti-human trafficking and drugs.

In May last year, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari had announced that Islamabad and Riyadh had signed a prisoner transfer agreement to repatriate over 2,000 Pakistani prisoners languishing in Saudi Arabia’s jails.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had visited Islamabad in February 2019 and, according to a tweet by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he had “graciously agreed to free 2,107 Pakistani prisoners in jails of Saudi Arabia with immediate effect” after PM Khan drew his attention to the plight of some 3,000 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails.

In October 2019, an official of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation had informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development that 579 Pakistani prisoners had been released by Saudi Arabia under the royal clemency.

During the question hour on January 4, the Senate had been informed that currently 9,191 Pakistanis were languishing in jails of 73 countries, with the highest number of 2,555 prisoners in jails of Saudi Arabia, followed by 1,918 in the UAE and 884 in Greece.

During the meeting, the prime minister, while thanking the Saudi leadership for hosting a large Pakistani community, emphasised the need for further strengthening people-to-people linkages between the two countries, said an official handout issued by the PM Office.

Mr Khan also lauded the vision of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for the kingdom’s progress and prosperity and his invaluable contribution to the abiding fraternal relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He particularly thanked the kingdom for its steadfast support to Pakistan, especially in challenging times. He thanked the Saudi leadership for the recent financial budgetary support extended to Pakistan.

PM Khan praised the leadership role of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in promoting Islamic unity, and acknowledged the endeavours of Saudi Arabia for peace and security in the region and beyond.

Prince Abdulaziz conveyed cordial greetings of the Saudi crown prince to the prime minister and reaffirmed the close fraternal relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He also acknowledged the positive contribution of Pakistanis to the development of the kingdom and reiterated the resolve to work closely with the Pakistani side on all matters relating to his ministry.

Earlier, the visiting Saudi minister spent a busy day in the capital and met Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, besides paying a call on President Dr Arif Alvi and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The interior ministers of the two countries stressed the need for strengthening ties and increasing coordination at the ministry level. They said better liaison between their ministries was needed to address various issues, including security challenges.

Sheikh Rashid said Pakistan valued its relations with Saudi Arabia as they were based on mutual trust and Islamic brotherhood. Stating that the two million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia were a precious asset, the minister thanked the Saudi government for taking excellent care of them.

Regional situation, release of Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia and other matters of mutual interests were also discussed in the meeting.

Noorul Haq Qadri discussed Haj and Umrah issues with the Saudi interior minister, according to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. Pilgrims’ visa and immigration issues under Covid-19 standard operating procedures also came under discussion.

Mr Qadri appreciated the Saudi government and interior ministry’s unflinching services for the security of Umrah and Haj pilgrims. He said the Saudi minister had hinted at including two more cities in ‘Road to Makkah’ project.

Meanwhile, an official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said it was taking all anticipatory actions for smooth operation of Haj 2022. Though the Haj Policy 2022 has yet to be announced due to certain reasons, the ministry has in advance adopted measures for facilitating the intending pilgrims. The official said the ministry had invited the expression of interest from scheduled banks to collect applications of the intending pilgrims for Haj-2022.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022