Between 2019 and 2024, Saudi Arabia released 7,208 Pakistani prisoners, as reported by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in a Senate session on January 21, 2025. The annual breakdown is as follows:
•2019: 545 prisoners
•2020: 892 prisoners
•2021: 916 prisoners
•2022: 1,331 prisoners
•2023: 1,394 prisoners
•2024: 2,130 prisoners
Of these, 4,301 individuals were under the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Consulate General in Jeddah, and 2,907 were under the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh. The release followed a 2019 announcement by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to Pakistan, where he pledged to free 2,107 Pakistani detainees. However, due to the continuous movement of prisoners, it is challenging to determine the exact number who benefited from this specific amnesty. As of now, approximately 23,456 Pakistani citizens remain imprisoned worldwide, with the highest numbers in Saudi Arabia (12,156) and the UAE (5,292).
