Muscat, Jan. 25 (TNS): Pakistan’s Minister of Interior Ahsan Iqbal said that a proposal is being discussed to shift Pakistani prisoners in Oman back home, Omani media reported here on Thursday.
“There are some prisoners who are in the prisons here [in Oman]. We have discussed with the Oman’s Minister of Interior about a proposal to shift them to prisons in Pakistan and remove Oman’s burden and free their prisons,” he said, during a recent visit to Oman.
If approved, the move would be a solace to these prisoners and their families, he said. “It would be a concession for these prisoners as they will be put in prisons close to their families. We have made this offer on a humanitarian basis and as soon as there is an agreement for this proposal, we will sign a formal protocol to transfer these prisoners to prisons in Pakistan,” Iqbal said.
Last year, Dawn newspaper reported that relatives of some prisoners in Oman had held a protest demonstration in Pakistan asking the government to help them. The demonstrators held banners and placards demanding release of their relatives serving sentences in Oman.
Iqbal commended Pakistan’s ties with Oman and said there is a very good and sizeable Pakistani community in Oman (270,000) that is doing well and being useful to the economy of Oman.
