Saudi beheads Pakistan national for drug smuggling

E-Paper | June 15, 2026

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani national on Wednesday in the holy city of Medina after convicting him of drug smuggling, the interior ministry said.

Bashir Khamis Ahmad was found guilty of trying to smuggle large quantities of heroin into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The beheading brings to 60 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.

Amnesty International says 79 people were put to death in the Gulf kingdom last year.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under its strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.

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Khan

Sep 19, 2012 11:32am

it is so ironic that those who bring the drugs in the Kingdom gets beheaded. for whom the drug comes for???? are scot free. !!!!!!!

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Saad

Sep 19, 2012 11:31am

not "hundreds" my friend... infact not even 100. read carefully please. And you think drug trafficking is a small crime? really? I hope you know Saudi Arabia is not the only country with capital punishment on drug trafficking

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Saad

Sep 19, 2012 11:27am

condemn what??? punishing a crime?

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KHAN

Sep 21, 2012 12:42am

they will not,because they cant get these kind of slaves from anywhere in 21st century.This is their culture to keep ghulams and laundis.So they still do it.

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shahuk

Sep 19, 2012 11:12am

Besides the nature of punishment, everyone who is caught knows the rules in the Kingdom, so why do it.

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Sep 19, 2012 12:29pm

no bec it is a right thing to do to stop these crimes....

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Shahid

Sep 19, 2012 02:13pm

And what about the person who is destroying so many young lives and killing them with drugs every day just for money. This is the right punishment for sure.

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ahmad butt

Sep 19, 2012 02:19pm

Listen all, Singapore also has death penalty, in fact a few other asian countries are joining the list, so does that mean Singapore is a conservative country? The law is there so that the country remains out from this menace, and also Arab addicts are treated in rehab. We all know what the arab people are notorious for doing overseas but they keep the mess away from their country.

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Pradeep

Sep 19, 2012 09:54am

Even as they behead hundreds every year there in no actual stop of these crimes. May be time to retrospect what there harsh treatment of small-time criminals is achieving.

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raj

Sep 19, 2012 09:46am

Thats Cruel...!!!

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faisal

Sep 19, 2012 09:28am

How many saudi's ever convicted or beheaded?? why only Pakistani or Bangladeshi's?

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Gamerwamer

Sep 20, 2012 10:27am

Really, now there will be no more smuggling eh?

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Gamerwamer

Sep 20, 2012 10:26am

If prevention was possible through the implementation of barbaric laws, this incident of smuggling would not have happened.

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hatikva

Sep 20, 2012 12:10pm

if ppl follw this....there will always be no mercy or forgiveness.were already seeing the rise of minority abuse through blasphemy laws of shariah.it will produce more fascism and extremism.

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chaitanya2106

Sep 20, 2012 09:00am

That is indeed cruel because you can bring back a criminal to normal life by keeping him in prison or undergoing him to rehab exercises , etc... he may see the light of living a positive life and contribute to betterment of society. By beheading,what difference remain between kingdom and the murderers?

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chaitanya2106

Sep 20, 2012 08:58am

i dont think so... contrary to what you might think, the common man would live in a state of fear.. because there has to be a balance in society. Imposing strict laws are suited to only a set of human beings.

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zaib

Sep 20, 2012 08:08am

I don't understand why Pakistanis people do that , I think literacy rate should be increased in Pakistan , secondly one should know that he is destroying Pakistan image outside in other countries . thirdly Saudi Govt. should strict its visa policy .

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raj

Sep 20, 2012 07:52am

I m NOT supporting crime dear but I am against such cruel & harsh punishment. There r other civilized way of giving death sentence. Though In my opinion, this is not that heinous crime which deserve death penalty.

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Sep 20, 2012 07:39am

Not sure how many but in the last one month i have read about 5 saudis in the news paper. 3 for armed robbrey and 2 for murder.

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Abdul Aziz

Sep 20, 2012 07:38am

This is the reason saudi arabia has less crime rate in the world as compared to other countries of the world.

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Abdul Aziz

Sep 20, 2012 07:38am

There are many saudis who were convicted.

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Virkaul

Sep 20, 2012 04:52am

Did Saudi become peaceful country to live in?

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iqbalrangoonwala

Sep 20, 2012 04:24am

LOOK AND LEARN LESSON

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Saud

Sep 20, 2012 04:16am

Because Saudi's dont smuggle. Its south Asians mainly who want to be rich overnight.

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saju

Sep 20, 2012 03:58am

double game ,saudi never respect any person other than citizen,also impose and insist their coulture to follow.discrimination been paved with, causing trouble to the world peace

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Rao

Sep 20, 2012 03:36am

Saudis have different rules for Caucasians & Asians and generally Asians are given harder sentences. Caucasians mostly escape with lighter sentences or their cases do not come into public purview because of the pressure they exert on Saudis.

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Tawheed

Sep 20, 2012 02:57am

This is the right thing to do... The correct way to punish... It instills a fear of punishment in the hearts of potential criminals and deters them from the crime...

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javed helali

Sep 20, 2012 02:50am

Death is NOT a punishment.It is a release from this world. If it was punishment then all the pious people in the world would not have died. javed helali

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Tariq Ahmed

Sep 20, 2012 02:25am

we need this punishment for Afghani and Pak drug dealers who are ruining Pakistani youth.

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Shaukat Basit

Sep 20, 2012 01:03am

My friend you are an ignorant person,almost half of these criminals are Saudis.

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umer

Sep 20, 2012 12:51am

Singapore too has the Capital Punishment for drug trafficking which is death.

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umer

Sep 20, 2012 12:54am

Do some research and you will find out that it's not just Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

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samer

Sep 19, 2012 11:46pm

oh no .. stastisitcs shows pakistanis are the most people beheaded in saudi arabis since last two decades .....

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jalaluddin S. Hussain

Sep 19, 2012 11:24pm

It will serve ends of justice if those who use drugs to get high are also beheaded!

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Shoshi

Sep 19, 2012 11:22pm

Unfortunately its known in the Kingdom that a Saudi caught smuggling will first get a light punishment and then on his 2nd conviction will be beheaded. Is that Fair?

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ali

Sep 19, 2012 11:13pm

It is always the poor carriers who are arrested and executed , nobody goes after the big Saudi importer, they have an unjust system prevailing in Saudi Arabia.

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Sep 19, 2012 10:52pm

their is a famous quote that "kill one to scare hundreds", also they know drug trafficking is wrong and illegal but they still do it, so the deserve the shortcut to hell.

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osman shk

Sep 19, 2012 09:41pm

a drug addict in one family ruins an entire family and its dreams and people are more concerned for the man who brings this heinous substance that not only destroys one man but scars a whole family. It is precisely this attitude that our country sees murder, rape, pillage and yet there be no stopping it.... why? because there is no punishment inmost cases for whatever reason.

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sarmad

Sep 19, 2012 09:41pm

perfect this type of law must be implemented in every country to stop the crime and drug smuggling

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Mustafa Razavi

Sep 19, 2012 09:38pm

A law is only as good as it's enforcers and interpreters. We just saw Shariya Law in Swat and Afghanistan, at lease according to those enforcing it.

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Syed

Sep 19, 2012 09:22pm

well for those who just love sharia law ... congrats, this ones a beauty !!!

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Eric Stone

Sep 19, 2012 08:56pm

However cruel this sounds, I do agree with this statement - in terms of murderers, drug and people/slave smugglers.

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luqman

Sep 19, 2012 08:26pm

You hit the nail Faisal. Why convict and behead only Pakistanis and Bangladeshis? Why convict and behead only the ones who actually bring the drugs and not the real big fishes? Just blindly executing the harshest punishment does not stop crime. It needs a thorough and wise judgement. In Europe the problem is under control because they have well-functional police and judiciary.

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Raj

Sep 19, 2012 08:06pm

And what about the people who consume the drug??? There is supply where there is a demand. Simple economy. There are people in Saudi who takes drug for them this poor chap has smuggle the drug. What punishment for those who consume??

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Anwar

Sep 19, 2012 08:04pm

That is great Job by Kingdom, They are not a simply smugglers but the dealers of death and destroying life and families, the drug not only kill single person but families and societies. Dreadful death for the Drugs dealers, sellers and supporters.

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Nasr KiKi

Sep 19, 2012 07:17pm

Yes it is distasteful but don't you know the kingdom has the lowest crime rate in the world?

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Anonymous

Sep 19, 2012 07:09pm

It is just because of such punishment that the crime rate is too low in kingdom...if the same law was in pakistan or india, crime rate would be low. No body has ever seen a girl publicly raped or harassed in kingdom but u can see lots of such things in india, daily. Best way to minimize the crime is to implement sharia laws

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Shahrukh Khan

Sep 19, 2012 07:04pm

This is their law, if you don't like don't go there. Just like your countries have their laws, if you break them, you get punished

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luqman

Sep 19, 2012 06:23pm

why pakistani and bangladeshi are convicted in crimes like this

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Owais Ahmed

Sep 19, 2012 05:07pm

Do you have the figures, or are you suggesting the Saudis are biased towards Pakistanis & Bangalis.

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Cyrus Howell

Sep 19, 2012 03:15pm

This is not about what is permitted and what is forbidden - this is about your lives and your childrens' lives. . Everything is permitted in Pakistan - for the right price.

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fika77

Sep 19, 2012 02:36pm

Question is not how many saudis? Question is why pakistani do these crimes when they know the law. I think it pays handsomely if you come out of it.

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fika77

Sep 19, 2012 02:31pm

How can you identify a potential buyer?? For law/punishment to be implemented, a proof is required and not just potential.

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fika77

Sep 19, 2012 02:29pm

Totally agree, people here are arguing about the punishment but why one need to do it, is the question. If you are bringing drug to the KSA you are calling for your death.

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pankajdehlavi

Sep 19, 2012 01:24pm

Valid point .........

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Bobby

Sep 19, 2012 01:19pm

Interesting indeed.because they come cheap and in large numbers!!

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Bobby

Sep 19, 2012 01:18pm

Well, because there is a human element that lot of people care about.Everyone deserves a fair trial and hearing.And I don't think you'll be asking for sharia rules if you were a female,and for obvious reasons.

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rahmat

Sep 19, 2012 01:12pm

there is life in qasas, what Quran says....to simplify it for you, by sacrificing one life, we can prevent hundred of people from the harm and hazard of the crime, we can prevent crime to happen...crime rate in Kingdom is minimum due to strict punishment under Sharia, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE...this is the theme of our beautiful religion.

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Talk4real

Sep 19, 2012 12:05pm

If all the nations of the world followed Islamic Shariyah rules for punishments of various crimes, believe you me this world would be a very peaceful place to live.....

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sanyukta

Sep 19, 2012 11:53am

huh... Distasteful... Killing for punishment.. Punishment is to reform people not to end the person completely.

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Vasif Abbas (@VasifAbbas)

Sep 19, 2012 11:43am

NO! because that's the rule of the land. Drug trafficking has a straight death penalty. Crime has punishments, in KSA they give out a death penalty. Electrocution or Being hanged is no different

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shri

Sep 19, 2012 11:06am

With having death penality still there is demand for drugs in Suadi Arabia ? Will the Saudis hang potential buyers as well ?

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Saad

Sep 19, 2012 11:01am

yeah... and that too for a noble cause like drug trafficking....

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hamid Shafiq

Sep 19, 2012 10:45am

not cruel but the law of Govt to reduce the drugs not in pakistan every road is full of heroine addicited with the presence of anti norcotics agencies

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Nasir

Sep 19, 2012 10:42am

this is the only way to overcome such crimes......

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Nish(India)

Sep 19, 2012 09:39am

And I don't see any chest thumping pakistanis condemning this? Why? because it was done by fellow muslim country?

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Does not matter

Sep 19, 2012 02:03pm

I think the punishment fits the crime. The man, if was indeed guilty, must have known the punishment and he still did it so point is not a reform for him but to deter others not to do that crime.

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