Islamabad (Agencies): Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said that at least 6,450 Pakistanis have been incarcerated in jails of seven Gulf countries in 2017-18.
In a written reply to the question of Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, Qureshi said about 2,970 Pakistanis have been incarcerated in various jails of Saudi Arabia, 2600 in the jails of United Arab Emirates, 657 in Oman, 128 in Bahrain, 54 Pakistanis were incarcerated in Qatari jails, 38 Pakistanis were in jails of Kuwait and 3 Pakistani have been incarcerated in jails of Yemen in 2017-18.
Minister for Foreign Affairs said teams from Pakistani missions regularly visit jails and meet prisoners for any assistance that may be provided as per the law.
Foreign Minister also said the teams maintain regular contact with families of prisoners to facilitate them in hiring of lawyers, submission of fines and processing legal documents. Financial assistance is also provided to prisoners to pay fines for release.
He said those prisoners who cannot afford air tickets are provided with tickets for early repatriation.