Saudi-released Pakistanis arrive in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Five Pakistanis arrested in Saudi Arabia on charges of trying to smuggle drugs about four months ago have arrived in Pakistan on board Saudi special plane, Geo News reported Friday.

It should be mentioned that Saudi Arabia released the five Pakistanis who were interned at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah on charges of drug smuggling, after ascertaining that they had no relation with the drugs.

Government personalities including Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Chairman of Standing Committee for Interior senator Talha Mehmood, Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer and the families of the released people received the lucky Pakistanis at Chaklala Airbase.

The coming Pakistanis are accompanied with two-member FIA and some Saudi officials.

According to sources, these people will be escorted to the PM house.

Sources in the Interior Ministry said that the Pakistanis were scheduled to return on Sept 28 but some legal procedure delayed their arrival.

The five who belong to the same family requested Saudi authorities that they wanted to perform Umrah for which they had travelled to the kingdom but could not do it because of their arrest on arrival. Saudi authorities have permitted them to perform Umrah.

According to a press statement of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad the security authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have released the five Pakistani nationals who were interned at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, on 9/6/1430 H, on charges of drug smuggling, after ascertaining that they had no relation with the drugs, which they were carrying without their knowledge.

This transpired after the concerned authorities in the Kingdom were briefed about the outcome of investigation carried out by the Pakistani security authorities with the real culprits who were apprehended in Pakistan, during the meeting of the Interior Minister His Excellency Mr. Rahman Malik, with officials of the Saudi Interior Ministry in his recent visit to the Kingdom, the statement said.

The Press Statement of the Saudi Embassy in Pakistan further said that the detainees after their release performed Umrah and visited the Prophet’s Mosque. The Embassy advised all those traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make sure that their luggage which they are carrying, does not contain any contraband item punishable by the rules of Saudi Arabia, particularly narcotics, which is punished by death sentence.

The three who have confessed to have tried to smuggle drugs into the kingdom face death sentence. Those who were arrested in Pakistan, including a travel agent and his wife, would be tried under Pakistani laws.