APROPOS the article ‘Going forward’ (March 03). The writer says: “Pakistan must demand that executions of its citizens in Saudi Arabia are halted until the PTA (prisoner transfer agreement) is finalised.”

Saudi Arabia executes individuals sentenced to death for murder, armed robbery, rape, drug trafficking and apostasy. They make no distinction between man or woman, prince or pauper and local or foreigner.

In the not too distant past a Filipino maid and a Saudi prince were executed for murder. So why should the Saudis make a distinction between our citizens and the convicts of other nationalities awaiting their fate and allow our convicts to be sent home where they can conveniently manipulate the system to their advantage? Are we a special breed that we should be treated differently? The Saudis have their laws and they implement them. If we do not want to abide by the Saudi laws we shouldn’t go there.

It is not simply that our compatriots commit all kinds of crimes abroad. They have the audacity to complain that our missions do not help them. Help them for what? Commit crimes?

Are our missions expected to bail out criminals or enhance our image? As it is, our image abroad is hardly anything to be proud about and here we are mollycoddling criminals who have tarnished an image that already lies in tatters. If you commit a crime you pay for it, period.

Farid Nawaz
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2019