Representative image of a person in jail.
Credit: iStock Photo
Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has said that 23,456 Pakistani nationals are lodged in jails abroad in a range of cases including drug smuggling, rape, murder, and robbery, according to a media report on Monday.
Of these, 12,156 are being held in Saudi Arabia alone, the ministry informed the National Assembly during question hour, the Dawn newspaper reported.
In a written reply, the ministry said that the United Arab Emirates holds 5,292 Pakistanis, while 450 are imprisoned in Bahrain -- mostly for drug trafficking, drug possession, and fraud.
Around 400 Pakistanis are imprisoned in China, convicted in a range of cases, including drug smuggling, rape, robbery, murder, and possession of counterfeit currency.
In Qatar, 338 Pakistanis were sentenced for offences including theft, murder, narcotics, money laundering, rape, and financial fraud. Oman sentenced 309 Pakistanis for crimes such as drug trafficking, murder, robbery, and sexual assault, while Malaysia convicted 255 individuals for similar offences, in addition to illegal entry.
The ministry claimed to provide regular consular visits to detention facilities, verification of detention conditions and treatment of prisoners, the report said.