Efforts afoot for release of prisoners in UAE
islamabad — Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari on Thursday hinted at early release of Pakistani prisoners languishing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jails in minor cases.
“Pakistani inmates will be released and repatriated soon,” he said on Thursday. He said the government was in contact with the UAE authorities to get Pakistani prisoners released at the earliest especially those involved in petty offenses.
On the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the ministry and its subsidiary departments were making all-out efforts and discussing possibilities with the authorities concerned abroad to ensure the release of inmates locked up in foreign prisons
on minor crimes, he said.
Zulfikar Bukhari said recently his ministry had facilitated the return of 28 Pakistani drivers stuck in Iraq and over 400 in other countries despite the closure of Pakistan airspace due to tensions with India.
Sources said the efforts had been
intensified after the recent visit of Zulfikar Bukhari to the UAE where he met Dubai Police Chief Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri in Dubai.
During the visit, both sides agreed to form a joint committee to resolve the issues of Pakistanis languishing in the UAE jails and bring back those inmates involved in petty crimes at earliest. It was also agreed that the committee would swap the data of Pakistani prisoners in future to ensure the timely repatriation of those who would have completed their term in the UAE jails. — APP