ISLAMABAD: Chairman of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis Sheikh Fayyaz-ud-Din told Arab News on Friday that the government was in touch with the relevant Saudi authorities for the release of Pakistani prisoners in the Kingdom.
He also confirmed the release of 579 Pakistani prisoners this year, adding it was in line with an announcement made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to Pakistan in February 2019.
“The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis shared the details of 579 released prisoners from Saudi jails with the standing committee,” he told Arab News.
Fayyaz-ud-Din said most of those released from Saudi prisons were involved in minor misdemeanors in the Kingdom. Some of them were also involved in drug-related crimes.
“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised to release about 2,100 Pakistani prisoners jailed in Saudi Arabia and we hope that the remaining inmates will also be released soon,” he said.
Last month, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, told Arab News in an interview that 579 Pakistani prisoners were released this year after the crown prince’s visit to Islamabad.
According to an official estimate, there are about 3,400 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails, and Prime Minister Imran Khan requested the release of these inmates during the high profile visit of the Saudi Crown Prince.
Saudi Arabia is home to around 2.6 million Pakistani expats who constitute a vital source of foreign remittances to Pakistan.
Last year, the country received $21.8 billion in remittances out of which $5 billion were remitted by Pakistani nationals working in the Kingdom.
Lawmaker says in touch with Saudi authorities for release of remaining prisoners
Lawmaker says in touch with Saudi authorities for release of remaining prisoners
- Chairman of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis confirmed the release of 579 prisoners
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised to release 2,100 Pakistani during his visit to Islamabad in February
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
