JEDDAH: Five members of a Pakistani family who came to the Kingdom for Umrah and were arrested for drugs on arrival have been set free by the Saudi authorities.
In confirmation, Pakistan’s Consul General Zaigham Uddin Azam told Arab News: “We are aware of the orders setting the Pakistanis free. Their travel formalities are being completed and they will return home immediately after the Eid holidays.”
The five — Muhammad Arif Chauhan, his wife Shumaila, Anis Ahmad, his wife Rabia and Ahmad’s mother — were arrested on charges of possessing drugs several weeks ago. The Kingdom accepted the request of the government of Pakistan and ordered their release.
“The innocent Pakistanis, falsely implicated in the drug case by a travel agency, have finally been released by the Saudi government,” Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a press conference in Islamabad earlier in the day.
According to the minister, the real criminals are Sayed Sarwat Hussain and his wife Shafia Khanum, who have already been taken into custody. Another member of the group, Abdul Zubair Tonio, is still at large.
The Pakistan government has filed criminal cases against Hussain and Shafia. They will be tried according to Pakistani law.
Asked whether the real criminals will be handed over to the Kingdom, Malik said: “The Foreign Office will consider this, but we will try them in Pakistan and exchange reports of our investigations with the Kingdom.”
Malik said the “unconditional” release had been made possible through the help of Prince Muhammad bin Naif, Saudi assistant minister of interior for security affairs.
The minister thanked the Kingdom for the noble gesture. “Our ties with the Kingdom will be further strengthened,” says Malik. He said that an escort would be provided to bring the five people back to Pakistan. Malik said the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Religious Affairs would investigate all Haj and Umrah tour operators.
— With input from Azhar Masood in Islamabad
