ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday informed that the government is negotiating a prisoner exchange agreement with China which would allow the convicts to serve their sentences in Pakistan.
Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch informed the House during question hour that a total of 260 Pakistanis are currently imprisoned in China.
These include 193 who have been sentenced after conviction and 67 who are in detention centres, awaiting trial.
He said majority of the Pakistanis under arrest in China are charged with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
He said Pakistan Embassy in China seeks consular access from the Chinese authorities and oversees that the legal rights of the accused are granted.
He said, all ambassadorial level missions of Pakistan abroad are headed by Ambassador and High Commission.
In routine, the minister said, a few week gaps comes at times between the departure and arrival of the ambassador due to reasons like delay in grant of agreement by the host government.
He said, this happens with all the countries and Pakistan is not an exception. Currently, the assumption of charge by the new ambassadors is awaited in the missions include, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Senegal, Cuba, Indonesia, Sudan, Canada, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Syria and Nigeria.
Niger, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan and Tanzania missions are not ambassadorial level and headed by a Charge d Affaires, he added.
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