Deportation of Detainees

The Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Mohammad Sadiq, said in a press statement that 48 Pakistani immigration detainees were repatriated from the United States to Pakistan by US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) on 23rd October via a charter flight.

All the detainees had exhausted all judicial remedies in the United States and had requested the Pakistan Embassy to expedite their repatriation to Pakistan. 22 of the 48 had been ordered deported in the late 1990s but had not complied and had stayed in the US illegally. 5 had overstayed visas and had not adjusted their status. The others were convicted in crimes like forgery, marriage fraud, credit card irregularities, drugs, arson, theft and domestic violence/assault.

The DCM said on the average, most of the detainees had spent about 2 months in prison after their convictions, which is the shortest post-conviction detention period for prisoners from Asia. They were provided consular access during detention by the Embassy of Pakistan and the Consulates and their welfare was also carefully monitored. Their families in Pakistan and the US were kept informed of the progress The Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Mohammad Sadiq, said in a press statement that 48 Pakistani immigration detainees were repatriated from the United States to Pakistan by US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) on 23rd October via a charter flight.

All the detainees had exhausted all judicial remedies in the United States and had requested the Pakistan Embassy to expedite their repatriation to Pakistan. 22 of the 48 had been ordered deported in the late 1990s but had not complied and had stayed in the US illegally. 5 had overstayed visas and had not adjusted their status. The others were convicted in crimes like forgery, marriage fraud, credit card irregularities, drugs, arson, theft and domestic violence/assault.

The DCM said on the average, most of the detainees had spent about 2 months in prison after their convictions, which is the shortest post-conviction detention period for prisoners from Asia. They were provided consular access during detention by the Embassy of Pakistan and the Consulates and their welfare was also carefully monitored. Their families in Pakistan and the US were kept informed of the progress of their cases as well as their well-being. An official of the Embassy of Pakistan and two doctors accompanied the detainees on the flight. The returning Pakistanis had been provided with financial assistance by the Embassy in Washington to cover their expenses on arrival and to pay for their travel to their hometowns.

Mr. Sadiq said that this was the sixth charter flight repatriating detainees. Earlier ones had gone in August 2002, November 2002, March 2003, June 2003, August 2003. Before this flight, 479 detainees had been deported by charter. The total number of Pakistanis deported since 9/11 is about 1400. He further said that this time 15 out of the 48 are from Karachi, 6 are from NWFP and all others are from Punjab mostly from Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Wazirabad.

Washington, DC
October 23, 2003