Malaysian Prime Minister’s visit, ‘Pakistani prisoners were not discussed’

Pakistani officials say that Malaysia There was no discussion during Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit on the increasing number of Pakistani prisoners.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Atta Tarar, to a question asked by Independent Urdu, said that to his knowledge, there is no discussion on this subject, nor has any such agreement or document been agreed upon between the two countries.

He said that ‘if there was any discussion on this during the dinner in the President’s House, then he is not aware of it.’

However, he promised to approach after getting more information about it.

Pakistan and Malaysia on Thursday reiterated their commitment to further expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, banking, ports, technology and agriculture.

In a recent article, the head of Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, Rabia Jawari Agha, has tried to draw attention to the growing number of Pakistani prisoners in Malaysia. This article was published in the English newspaper ‘Dawn’ on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Rabia Jawari Agha said that the number of Pakistani prisoners in Malaysia has reached 463 by September 2024, which is a 55% increase from the number of 299 in February, meaning an increase of 200 prisoners in just seven months.

He stressed the urgent need for diplomatic intervention, saying these numbers reflected the lives lost and families separated.

He said that these Pakistanis face a range of charges ranging from immigration violations and petty crimes to tougher laws like the Dangerous Drugs Act.

According to Rabia Jawari: ‘Inadequate legal representation, language barriers and limited consular support lead to many facing harsher sentences.’

The head of the National Commission for Human Rights suggested that Pakistan should enter into a prisoner exchange agreement with Malaysia similar to what countries like Iran have done.

In 2024 alone, 85,000 Pakistanis sent remittances worth $71 million to Malaysia. In 2020, 1500 Pakistani prisoners were repatriated from Malaysia.

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Since 2020, Malaysia has signed a ‘Prisoner Transfer Agreement’ (PTA) with Ukraine, Brunei and Iran which not only facilitates the transfer of prisoners but also strengthens diplomatic and consular relations. “Now is the time for Pakistan and Malaysia to sign the PTA,” insists Rabia Jawari. It is a diplomatic necessity and a moral obligation.’

However, in the meetings of the visiting Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim with the Pakistani authorities and in the discussions with the media, it seems that both focused on increasing economic cooperation and did not discuss the prisoners.

In his post on social media platform X on Thursday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that he was happy to have a detailed and fruitful discussion with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. We also discussed several issues including trade, IT, energy, agriculture, halal meat exports, tourism, education and defense and regional and global developments, especially the situation in Gaza and Lebanon, to strengthen Pakistan-Malaysia relations. What did you think?

On the other hand, the National Commission for Human Rights says that it is working with SUHAKAM, the national human rights body, to collect comprehensive data on Pakistani prisoners in Malaysia. ‘This partnership allows access to critical information that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. We are also working closely with the Pakistani High Commission in Malaysia.

It is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan under the Constitution and international law to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens detained abroad. According to official estimates, more than 23,000 Pakistani citizens are currently imprisoned in prisons around the world.