November 20, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 21, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: Over 400 Pakistanis, including women and children, have been languishing in various jails in Afghanistan, the United States and South Africa on different petty and major charges, including terrorism, robbery and rape.

This information was placed before the National Assembly by Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi during the question hour on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Mohammad Afzal Khokhar, the foreign minister told the National Assembly that a total of 410 Pakistanis had been imprisoned in different jails -- 309 in the US, 81 in Afghanistan and 20 in South Africa.

There are four Pakistani women who have been detained in various jails of Afghanistan.

The government, however, admitted that details of addresses and allegations/charges in respect of some of the detained persons had not been provided by the host authorities in Afghanistan, South Africa and the US.

Replying to another question of MNA Abdul Qadir Patel, the foreign minister told the National Assembly that a total of 8,562 Pakistanis had been deported from Turkey during the last three years. “The reason for deportation was their illegal entry into Turkey via Iran through land route in an attempt to reach Europe,” says the minister.

The information placed before the lower house shows that out of 309 persons detained in the US, 151 are imprisoned in Washington, 72 in New York, 69 in Houston, 10 in Chicago and seven in Los Angeles.

In Afghanistan, 67 in Kabul, 10 in Jalalabad, three in Herat and one in Mazar-i-Sharif. The NA was informed that the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) had reported that there were some 47 Pakistanis detained in Afghanistan, but this report was yet to be confirmed.

The reply shows that 20 Pakistanis are imprisoned in 12 different prisons in South Africa and a majority of them – six in number -- have been put in jails on murder charges.

Giving break-up, the minister told the House that among 151 people imprisoned in Washington, 53 had been put behind the bars for “immigration violation”, 13 for drug trafficking, six for “fraud”, five for sexual assault, five for robbery, four for carrying weapons and three for rape charges. The others are facing charges of “illegal entry”, “shoplifting”, “traffic offence” and “extortion”.

A majority of those imprisoned in other US jails are facing charges of “illegal entry” and “overstaying.” The 10 Pakistanis detained in Chicago have been served with deportation orders and waiting for the implementation of the orders.

Among those imprisoned in Afghan jails, 11 are facing charges of allegedly carrying out terrorism and sabotage activities. The other major charges being faced by the detained Pakistanis in Afghanistan are drug smuggling, illegal entry and possessing “fake currency” and “fake documents.”

A woman named Robina daughter of Mr Emanuel, a resident of Islamabad, is also in an Afghan jail and she has been found involved in “smuggling drugs to China.” Similarly, a 50-year-old woman Mrs Hassan Pari daughter of Nigar Mohammad is also in an Afghan jail and no reason has been mentioned as to why she has been detained by the Afghan authorities. Another woman Rozia daughter of Abdul Mohammad, a resident of Swat, is also in a Jalalabad prison in connection with “marriage and family dispute.”

There is another woman Mrs Samina Mansur is languishing in a Mazar-i-Sharif prison and the reply shows that “charges are being ascertained by the mission” against her.

Shakila Rashid of the PPP drew the attention of the house towards the Pakistanis presently languishing in Indian jails. She said more than 1,700 Pakistanis, including women and children, were presently detained in India and the government must take steps for their release.

She alleged that the Indian authorities had kept women and children in separate prisons and the Pakistan government should take up this matter on humanitarian grounds.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Ahmed Khan shared the concerns raised by the PPP MNA and told the house that the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was making efforts for their release.

In response to a question of PML-Q MNA Riaz Fatyana, the foreign minister informed the house that a total of nine persons had been appointed as ambassadors-at-large since March, this year. Those appointed as ambassadors-at-large are Salman Faruqui, Hussain Haqqani, Karim Khan Agha, Nasir Ali Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Zia Ispahani, Dr Akbar Khawaja, Jawed Malik and Jamil Ahmed Khan.