A total of 56 Pakistani prisoners, five women and 51 men, arrived at the international Karachi airport on a specially chartered flight Monday. It was part of an agreement reached by Pakistan and Sri Lanka earlier this year under which it offered its prisoners incarcerated for years in Sri Lankan jails an opportunity to return home to Pakistan.
This has thus been the result of meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi and Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral (r) Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne during their meetings held in May and July culminated into the accord. The efforts by both of them were, therefore important in ensuring that the prisoners go back.
All the prisoners thanked Minister Naqvi and Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan who bore all their expenses for their return. An elderly woman spoke her heart out saying, “Thank you for bringing us to Pakistan. I am never going to forget your kindness.” A prisoner added, “We are thankful to Mohsin Naqvi and Abdul Aleem Khan for bringing us back home. We were in difficult conditions but thank God we are back.”
The Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, appreciated this great achievement through the cooperation of the Sri Lankan government and the High Commissioner, and the financial aid provided by Minister Khan in the process.
This February, the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights revealed that approximately 23,456 Pakistanis are in jails abroad, primarily in the Gulf states. The committee directed the foreign ministry to bring forth a much-needed ‘Uniform Consular Protection Policy’ within three months, which would be presented before the government for approval.
This is a landmark in the process of dealing with Pakistani nationals who are behind bars in a country other than their homeland and is a testament to continued diplomatic engagement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
