FOREIGN Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Quraishi is requested to secure the release of fishermen hailing from Balochistan who are imprisoned in Dar es Salaam jail in Tanzania. These unfortunate fishermen, who hail from Washuk and Kharan districts, went missing in 2016.

A video went viral recently on social media showing their pitiable plight. They have served their two-year prison sentence for illegal fishing but are still in jail because they have no one to intercede on their behalf, and they do not understand Swahili.

The prisoners’ families who saw the video approached Tanzanian authorities to secure their freedom but were told that the court had sent them back to prison as the translator who was to appear and intercede on their behalf had not turned up. and they were languishing since in jail.

The foreign minister is requested to direct his ministry to secure their release and make arrangements for their repatriation to Pakistan.

Irshad Hameed

Washuk, Balochistan

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019