Summary The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the National Assembly that 21,647 Pakistanis are imprisoned in 71 countries. Saudi Arabia accounts for 10,745 prisoners and the UAE for 5,297.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – A total of 21,647 Pakistani citizens are imprisoned in 71 countries worldwide, including 8,569 who have been sentenced and more than 13,000 whose cases remain under trial, according to figures presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the National Assembly.
The data show that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates account for the largest numbers of Pakistani prisoners abroad, highlighting the scale of the issue facing Pakistani citizens detained in foreign jurisdictions.
Saudi Arabia holds 10,745 Pakistani prisoners, while 5,297 are in prisons across the UAE, according to the figures.
Other Gulf countries also hold Pakistani nationals in significant numbers. The figures list 599 prisoners in Qatar, 578 in Oman, 218 in Bahrain and 81 in Iraq.
Beyond the Gulf region, India has 738 Pakistani prisoners, followed by China with 625, Greece with 516, Malaysia with 444, Italy with 353 and Türkiye with 190.
The figures also include 169 Pakistani prisoners in Iran, 141 in the United States, 91 each in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, 35 in Thailand, 27 in Australia and 23 in the United Kingdom.
According to the information presented to parliament, the prisoners' cases are at different stages of legal proceedings in their respective countries. While thousands have received sentences, a substantial number are still awaiting the outcome of their cases.
The reported offences include alleged involvement in drug smuggling, currency-related crimes, human trafficking, forgery and other criminal cases. The figures do not specify the number of prisoners associated with each category of offence.
Pakistani citizens detained overseas are subject to the laws and judicial procedures of the countries where they are held. Their legal circumstances may differ depending on the charges, stage of proceedings and sentences imposed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' figures provide a broad picture of the number of Pakistanis in foreign prisons and the countries accounting for the largest populations. The information presented does not, however, provide a detailed breakdown of the cases by offence, sentence length or the number of prisoners awaiting trial in each country.
