ISLAMABAD: Haji Abdul Haq, 50, whose son has been in Saudi jail since May 2010, came to the National Press Club (NPC) on Tuesday from Sargodha to appeal the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to secure his son’s release.

Mr Haq told Dawn that his 24-year-old son Mohammad Irfan went to Saudi Arabia through an agent. He alleged that when his son went to the agent in Faisalabad to collect his visa and ticket, he was drugged and his suitcase was filled with drugs.

Know more: Footprints: On the death row in Saudi Arabia

Replying to a question, he said his son took a train from Faisalabad to Karachi from where he had to fly to Riyadh.

“At Riyadh airport, the drugs were discovered in his suit case and he was arrested soon after landing. I filed an application against the agent with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Faisalabad but they declared him innocent,” he said.

“Last year, my wife died hoping for another glimpse of her son. I have filed appeals with different government functionaries to bring my son back, but to no avail,” he said.

Mr Haq requested the prime minister to ensure that his son was tried in Pakistan. There are at least 15,000 Pakistanis on death row - arrested on charges of bringing drugs to Saudi Arabia - in Saudi jails.

Mr Haq was not the only person who came to NPC in a bid to get his grievances heard by the authorities.

Maryam Bibi, 70, who came from Khushab, said her 26-year-old son, Mohammad Sarfraz, was arrested at Jeddah airport in 2014 and drugs were recovered from him.

“Sarfraz has a two-year-old son and six-month-old daughter. He says that his bag was exchanged at airport and he is innocent,” she said.

Ali Raza from 105 Chak Janobi said that his brother Ghulam Mustafa was unemployed and decided to try his luck in Saudi Arabia.

“He sold his wife’s jewellery to pay an agent Rs350,000 to arrange a visa for Saudi Arabia. On May 12, 2010 he flew from Islamabad to Karachi and then on to Jeddah. At Jeddah airport drugs were recovered from his luggage,” he said.

Kalsoom Bibi, 60, from Sargodha said her 40-year-old son, Mohammad Altaf, was arrested in Saudi Arabia on similar charges.

Pir Muhammad from Mardan said that his 22-year-old son, Asmatullah, had been languishing in Saudi jail since last year.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2015

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