Bureau Report
Lahore: There are currently, 174 Pakistanis currently detained in Iran, 75 per cent of which are incarcerated for drug trafficking, and the Lahore High Court (LHC) has now opened an inquiry into these cases. The LHC directed the Foreign Office to produce a list of all the imprisoned Pakistanis by the next hearing. LHC Judge Justice Shahid Waheed said, “These are Pakistani citizens and the information about them cannot be withheld.”
Barrister Sarah Belal informed the court that, according to a change Irani law, those convicted in narcotics cases had their sentences commuted from capital punishment to life imprisonment. “It is the Pakistani government’s duty under the Constitution to protect its citizens wherever in the world they may be,” Barrister Sarah Belal said.
Pakistanis in foreign jurisdictions might not be able to file reviews on their own. Despite the urgent need to submit reviews, the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran has not yet provided any updates on the procedure for facilitating the Pakistani prisoners.
