United Kingdom (UK) and Pakistan have signed an agreement on Thursday regarding prisoner transfer, the British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and Pakistan Interior Secretary Major (r) Azam Suleman Khan.

The agreement would give prisoners the opportunity to serve their sentence closer to home and allows them to prepare for their reintegration into their home community when they are eventually released from prison.

The agreement was approved in principle during the visit to Pakistan of British Home Secretary the Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP in September. It restores and updates a previous agreement between the UK and Pakistan, and also includes strengthened assurances to ensure all transferred prisoners serve the appropriate sentence before being released.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said, “I am delighted to sign this updated prisoner transfer agreement today, which will allow prisoners to serve their sentence closer to home. This is a testament to the strength of our two countries’ relationship.”