Saudi Arabia green lights prisoner exchange accord with Pakistan

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Web Desk
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Flags of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Photo: AFP
Flags of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Photo: AFP

  • Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreement calls to swap convicted prisoners between two countries.
  • Saudi cabinet approves drafts for agreements for bilateral cooperation against crimes.
  • King Salman bin Abdul Aziz chairs cabinet meeting.


RIYADH: The Saudi Arabia cabinet has green lit the draft of an agreement to swap prisoners with Pakistan, as per a report by Saudi state media, The News reported Wednesday.

As per the Saudi Press Agency, the agreement calls for exchanging convicted prisoners between the two countries. 

In addition to this, the cabinet also approved the drafts for the agreements for bilateral cooperation against crimes and a document to work out a Memorandum of Understanding with Pakistan on illegal anti-human trafficking and drugs.

The meeting was chaired by King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the SPA said.

In May 2021, in an impressive feat of diplomacy, Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from a trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a signed Prisoner Transfer Agreement. 

A PTA is a bilateral contract between states which facilitates the transfer of prisoners back to their country of origin. In July and August of 2021, we saw two tranches of Pakistanis return home from the Kingdom.