Pakistan and United Kingdom have signed a landmark pact on transfer of prisoners. The agreement will give prisoners the opportunity to serve their sentence in the home country, and allow them to prepare for reintegration into the home community once they’re released from the prison.
The agreement was inked on Thursday at a ceremony attended by the British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and Pakistan Interior Secretary Major (R) Azam Suleman Khan in Islamabad.
The agreement was approved in principle during the visit to Pakistan of British Home Secretary the Sajid Javid MP in September this year. It restores and updates a previous agreement between the UK and Pakistan, and also includes strengthened assurances that all transferred prisoners will serve the appropriate sentence before being released. Speaking at the signing ceremony, British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said he was delighted to sign this updated prisoner transfer agreement which will allow prisoners to serve their sentence closer to home. “This is a testament to the strength of our two countries’ relationship”, he remarked.
Published in Daily Times, December 28th 2018.
