Saudi crown prince orders release of more than 2100 Pakistani prisoners

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered the release of about 2,100 Pakistani prisoners from the kingdom’s jails during a high-profile visit to Islamabad, Pakistan’s information minister said on Monday.

The crown prince had “ordered the immediate release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners”, after a request by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a post on Twitter.

The fate of thousands of Pakistani workers locked up in jails across the Middle East is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where there is a perception the prisoners are mostly poor laborers who have no real legal recourse.

Huge numbers of Pakistanis travel to the Middle East every year, with many working on construction sites or as domestic helpers. The remittances they send back are vital for Pakistan’s dollar-starved economy.

Saudi Arabia has in recent months helped keep Pakistan’s economy afloat by propping up rapidly dwindling foreign reserves with a $6 billion loan, giving it breathing room as it negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Pakistan has shown appreciation by treating Prince Mohammed’s trip as the biggest state visit since one by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, soon after Beijing announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure in Pakistan as part of China’s Belt and Road initiative.

Crown Prince had also announced Saudi Arabia will invest $20 billion in Pakistan with the possibility of more in the future.

Pakistan is the Saudi crown prince's first stop on an Asian tour aimed at building the kingdom's business ties in the east. However, his visits to Malaysia and Indonesia have been postponed, the two countries' foreign ministries said without giving any reason, leaving only Pakistan, China and India on the itinerary.

Many in the West blamed Prince Mohammed for the killing of the journalist Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The murder triggered the kingdom’s biggest political crisis for a generation. The crown prince has denied being involved.