ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Tuesday said some 221 Pakistanis were currently detained in prisons all across Malaysia including East Malaysia Sabah and Sarawak, on account of various offences.
Speaking during question hour in the Senate, the Advisor said officials of Pakistan Mission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, regularly paid consular visits to the Pakistani prisoners in Malaysian prisons and tried to resolve issues, including ill-treatment by the prison staff, lack of nutritious food, denial of access to the family and visiting friends, denial in getting proper medical treatment, brought into the Mission’s notice by the prisoners and conveyed these issues to prison authorities for immediate action and improvement.
He said the non-governmental organizations and representatives of the United Nations Offices and Commission of Human Rights of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) also visited the Malaysian prisons to monitor any maltreatment and grievances faced by the detainees.
He said the prisoners had to complete their sentences which were awarded to them by the court of law as per conviction.
However, Pakistani Mission in Kuala Lumpur makes efforts to secure expeditious repatriation of detained Pakistanis, once they have completed their imprisonment term and shifted to Immigration Detention Center for subsequent deportation, he added.
