adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
EIGHT Zimbabweans are among more than 300 foreigners who are being held illegally in Pakistani prisons despite completing their jail terms, but are facing difficulties in travelling back to their countries.
According to media reports in Pakistan, among those said to be languishing in some of that country’s most notorious prisons are seven inmates from South Africa, six from Zambia and the eight Zimbabweans.
The reports said authorities in Islamabad had confirmed that 362 foreign prisoners from some 30 countries have completed their jail terms, but were still stranded in the country.
The crimes that resulted in their jailing were not stated.
“They have completed their jail terms but can’t be released as they either have invalid travel documents or their home countries have not paid their travel expenses,” a Pakistani newspaper Daily Sarhad quoted that country’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying recently while addressing the country’s Senate.
“The foreigners had completed their jail terms but were still in jails due to problems with travel documents or unavailability of air tickets.”
He said Pakistan was making efforts to repatriate the prisoners.
However, he said his ministry could not give a timeframe as the documentation process alone was going to take considerable time.
A former police chief speaking on condition of anonymity said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that the foreigners are released as there continued incarceration was illegal.
“The government should repatriate them because their detention is illegal after the completion of their sentence and to ease the burden on the national exchequer,” he said.
“In case the country concerned is not interested in entertaining its own citizen, the host state should engage welfare organisations for their repatriation.”
Efforts to get a comment from Foreign Affairs secretary Joey Bimha were fruitless yesterday.
Online Reporter