Plight of Pakistanis in Saudi jails

• Zeeba T Hashmi
  

The Pakistani embassy has sought information from Saudi authorities about the details of the sentences of detained Pakistanis but these requests have hardly been accepted.

The recent debacle of the ultra-nationalist Zaid Hamid ending up in a Saudi jail, sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes for speaking his mind against the government, has paradoxically backfired on all the jingoistic, undemocratic and bigoted rants by Zaid Hamid. Lashing him on the grounds of critiquing the Saudi government is tyrannical and the sentence would have carried more weight if he had been tried for hate mongering and inciting violence. He was not even tried for the alleged crime he committed. Since this has happened on the soil to which Saudi Arabia claims Pakistan is indebted, the Pakistani government needs to lodge its protest over the denial of its citizens’ right to a fair trial in the holy land of Saudi Arabia and not let it take Pakistani citizens for granted.

While Saudi Arabia mounted pressure on Pakistan to come to its aid in the war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pakistan politely refused by upholding parliament’s decision not to ally with the Saudis. Pakistan had valid grounds to turn down the request but pro-Saudi groups have tried to change public opinion in favour of Saudi Arabia under the ‘protection of Harmain Sharifain (holy places)’ banner. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi ranted against parliament’s resolution and went so far as to say that his organisation would go to Saudi Arabia if the army did not, just like Fazlur Rehman Khalil went to Afghanistan. However, Pakistan withstood all that pressure, and rightly so. The reason for the refusal, however, should not only be based upon the economic and political viability of intervention but on a principled stand of dignity and justice. More needs to be done than just denying public opinion in favour of Saudi Arabia; the truth of how Pakistanis are treated in that land should be recognised by our government as well.

Until last year, there have been more than 4,000 Pakistanis languishing in the jails of Saudi Arabia, including women and children, who are kept there without any fair trials. If one were to include the actual figures, many Pakistanis have been framed under false charges at the behest of powerful Saudis, who exploit anti-labour laws and use these poor expatriates as shields to protect their organised crimes. Until 2012, before the visa change, there had been about 1,700 Pakistani prisoners, including women. Some of them have been kept there for more than a decade and are still awaiting their so-called trials. In this regard, the Pakistani embassy has sought information from Saudi authorities about the details of the sentences of detained Pakistanis but these requests have hardly been accepted. It is estimated that about 40 percent of the cases are related to drug trafficking and 25 percent to miscellaneous crimes like traffic incidents, bribery and brawls. Another 26 percent of the cases are related to fraud and theft and about seven percent are cases of rape or murder.

While answering the question of an MNA in the National Assembly, the former foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said that a majority of 468 prisoners were being held in Al-Malaz Jail, Riyadh and 380 prisoners were being held in Bariman Jail, Jeddah. All 30 female Pakistani prisoners, along with 260 men, are being held in Makkah jails. As many as 201 men are in Al-Hair Jail in Riyadh, 120 in Dammam Jail, 119 in General Jail, Medina and 88 prisoners in Al-Ahsa Jail. The remaining 165 Pakistani prisoners languish in 16 different prisons across Saudi Arabia. These details were shared on the floor of the upper house but no action was taken by the government in defence of its citizens. Last year, Chief Justice (CJ) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani took suo motu notice of about 3,000 prisoners in Saudi detention centres after a concerned citizen filed a complaint with the human rights cell of the Supreme Court (SC). In the complaint, the deplorable conditions of the detention centres were described along with how the foreign ministry has failed to take up the matter with the Saudi government. The Pakistani embassy in Riyadh has never taken interest in the affairs of detained Pakistanis and, due to their sheer neglect amidst the inhumane and deplorable conditions of these jails, many detainees have perished.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received reports of dozens of Pakistanis who face the death penalty over alleged drug trafficking, a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. Mainly belonging to poor families, accused persons have been coerced into smuggling at the whims of powerful drug lords, who have a nexus with the Saudi authorities. The real culprits are never brought to justice, if there is such a thing as justice in Saudi Arabia. So far, up to 10 Pakistanis have been executed in Saudi Arabia since January of this year and many others are awaiting their fate. Pakistani authorities in Saudi Arabia remain silent over this issue, even though the families of the accused have approached them with the names of the culprits responsible for framing their loved ones in drug trafficking. The motive is clear in such cases: to hide the important names in drug rackets, including influential Saudis involved. Pakistan needs to stand up in support of its citizens. It is a national tragedy that a large number of Pakistani visitors and expats are maltreated and denied justice by the Saudi authorities. Instead of cowering to Saudi demands and feeling obliged to favour them, Pakistan needs to first demand the humane and dignified treatment of its citizens before extending any material or military support to Saudi Arabia.