Over 7,000 Pakistani Prisoners Released from Saudi Arabia Between 2019, 2024
A total of 7,208 Pakistani prisoners have been released from Saudi prisons between 2019 and 2024, Dawn Newspaper reported citing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. This information was shared in the Senate in response to a question by Senator Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur regarding the release of 2,107 prisoners announced during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan in February 2019.
The breakdown of releases includes 545 prisoners in 2019, 892 in 2020, 916 in 2021, 1,331 in 2022, 1,394 in 2023, and 2,130 in 2024. Dar noted that 4,301 of the released prisoners were under the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Consulate General in Jeddah, while 2,907 were under the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh.
Currently, 23,456 Pakistanis are imprisoned abroad, with the largest numbers in Saudi Arabia (12,156) and the UAE (5,292). The foreign ministry is working on a comprehensive consular policy to address these issues.
