The Saudi government has suspended the execution of eight Pakistanis on death row on charges of drug smuggling following an appeal made by the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh.

“The Saudi government has accepted the request of the Pakistani Embassy to halt the execution of the eight Pakistanis until the embassy probe is complete,” read a statement released by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Saturday.

The AHRC praised the sympathy of Saudi authorities to the plight of these prisoners until investigations are complete. The AHRC also appreciated the efforts of Pakistani Ambassador, Muhammad Naeem Khan, and a two-member fact finding team in reviewing cases of Pakistanis with no legal representation.

The fact-finding team from the Pakistan Embassy consisted of Abdul Kareem Qazi, the Embassy’s legal consultant, and Syed Hammad Abid, community welfare attaché, to look into the cases of Pakistani inmates. The team conducted interviews with Pakistani prisoners to get a clear first-hand picture of their arrests in cases of drug smuggling.

“We met with 150 Pakistani prisoners who have been detained in connection with various offenses in different jails around the Kingdom on instruction from Ambassador Khan,” said Abid.

An appeal was sent to the Ministry of the Interior on the basis of the team's report requesting that beheading be suspended until Pakistan takes action against the drug lords responsible for sending these men and also conducts inquiries to reveal accomplices to the operation.

The AHRC hailed the efforts of embassy officials, saying that their services may well have saved several lives and will help bring to an end to the advent of drug lords who use innocent people to transport their drugs.

The AHRC has documented cases of young Pakistani men, who, beset by financial difficulties in most cases, are forced by local criminal organizations to act as "mules" for trafficking drugs from Pakistan into Saudi Arabia.

Many of these middlemen will have been approached by local operators of drug groups known to them who promise job opportunities abroad and offer assistance in obtaining a work visa in Saudi Arabia.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry recently informed the Senate Standing Committee on interior and narcotics control that around 7,912 Pakistani prisoners are imprisoned in different countries.

The ministry also revealed that Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with highest number of Pakistani prisoners languishing in the Kingdom’s jails. The ministry said that some 1,920 Pakistani prisoners are in Saudi jails for committing offenses of drug trafficking, theft and rape.

The AHRC earlier welcomed the Saudi government’s announcement releasing Pakistani prisoners during Ramadan.