On Tuesday, yet another Pakistani was executed in Saudi Arabia on drug trafficking charges. Benyameen Ali Ahmed, who was caught smuggling heroin in his stomach, is the 5th Pakistani to be executed in 2015. In 2014, 15 people were executed by the ultra-strict Gulf state. The numbers reveal a growing problem; Pakistani migrant workers being used as drug conduits in the Gulf States, where they face an alien legal system and draconian sanctions, all without any support from the government.
Saudi Arabia’s strict ban on drugs combined with its rich citizens makes smuggling drugs an extremely lucrative business. The restricted supply and the substantial risks involved in the procedure allow traffickers to charge exorbitant amounts. Caught in the middle are the drug ‘mules’, which, if caught, are left to fend for themselves. Most of these men are poor uneducated labourers, enticed by false dreams of prosperity abroad and forced or duped by overseas employment agents to traffic drugs, often under extreme duress. In Saudi Arabian courts, they stand very little chance of avoiding conviction. If you cannot afford a lawyer you are supposed to defend yourself. All proceedings are in Arabic while the interpreters are employees of the prosecution, who often misinterpret and manipulate testimony to achieve conviction. Furthermore, the state employs a no-tolerance policy on drugs, which takes little notice of elements like duress and motivation when delivering sentences. In this hostile environment one would expect the Pakistani government to step in to provide assistance to its citizens, as other governments have done to save their citizens from this draconian legal system. Indonesia and Sri Lanka have advocated on behalf of their citizens sentenced to beheading in Saudi Arabia; in some cases they have even paid blood money to secure their release. Pakistan on the other hand has turned a blind eye to the plight of the people they themselves have encouraged to seek employment abroad. Not only is the government unwilling to intercede on their behalf, it has failed to properly regulate migrant worker recruitment practices, which come under the preview of Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment.
Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record and harsh legal system has been the subject of much criticism, but Saudi Arabia remains adamant over its interpretation of the Shariah Law. If the global community cannot pressurise the government to change the system, they should at least be interceding in individual cases to mitigate the affect of this system. Pakistan needs to protect its citizens, even at the cost of tarnishing an ‘immaculate’ diplomatic relation with the Kingdom.