JEDDAH: The case of three Pakistanis held in a Makkah jail for nonpayment of their fines has now been settled after the money was raised and deposited with Nasrullah Wattoo, consul welfare at the Consulate General of Pakistan.
“We are in touch with philanthropists to arrange for payments on behalf of five more Pakistani prisoners so that they can return home,” Sohail Aftab, president of Jeddah-based Pakban Welfare Association, said on Wednesday. “Most of the prisoners have completed their terms but they remain in jail due to nonpayment of their fines,” he added.
Besides taking care of prisoners, Pakban is also trying to arrange for unpaid school fees of 300 students of Pakistan International School, Azizia. Their parents have not paid fees due to economic reasons and the school administration has not been able to accommodate all the defaulters because of its own problems, he said.
An estimated SR4,61,990 has to be paid by the parents to the school, Sohail said, adding that former Pakistani Consul General Masood Akhtar had to organize a charity dinner at his residence to collect money for the school. This practice has, however, been discontinued over the last two years, he added.
