BEING incarcerated anywhere is not a pleasant experience. However, if one has the misfortune to end up in jail in a foreign country with little knowledge of the local language and laws, the miseries multiply exponentially. This is often the case with Pakistani workers imprisoned in the Gulf states, where language barriers and opaque legal systems mean that getting home even after completing the sentence is an ordeal. In this regard, the recent return of 41 Pakistanis serving time in Sri Lankan jails is welcome; the convicts will now serve the remainder of their sentences in local facilities. However, many thousands more Pakistanis imprisoned abroad are not as lucky. According to rights group Justice Project Pakistan, over 11,000 Pakistanis are currently in overseas penitentiaries. As the group has highlighted, over 2,000 Pakistanis remain in Saudi jails. And while the prime minister had requested the Saudi crown prince last year to release these inmates, “the promise ... is yet to be fulfilled”.

Indeed, those who commit heinous crimes abroad must pay the penalty as per the local laws. However, the fact remains that in many cases, Pakistanis don’t get fair trials in foreign countries, while many are also hauled up for minor offences such as traffic accidents or other misdemeanours. Because they don’t always have access to their counsel of choice, and are barely aware of local regulations, these individuals end up serving long, harsh sentences for minor infractions. And as activists point out, many individuals — often those travelling abroad for the first time — are duped by unscrupulous employment agents and ‘deceived’ into trafficking drugs. In many Gulf states, drug trafficking is punishable by death. While efforts have been made by the state, more needs to be done to bring back Pakistanis serving time abroad, or to convince foreign states to allow convicts to serve the remainder of their terms in this country. That way, at least they will have access to family. Moreover, those Pakistanis travelling abroad for work — especially for the first time — must be educated before they board the plane about the regulations of their host country, so that they steer clear of violating the law. And in case citizens do end up having run-ins with foreign law-enforcement agencies, local Pakistani missions must ensure they have access to counsels well aware of the host country’s legal system. These workers deserve better than to be left to rot in foreign prisons indefinitely.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2020