Justice Project Pakistan launched the Detained Abroad registry in Islamabad with support from the High Commission of Canada and in collaboration with the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights. The new platform documents legal protections and practical resources for foreign nationals detained across the Indo-Pacific and was unveiled at an event attended by diplomats, government officials, legal practitioners, national human rights institutions, UN agencies and civil society actors.<\/p>\n
The launch opened with welcome remarks by H.E. Tariq Ali Khan, High Commissioner of Canada to Pakistan, and a presentation explaining how Detained Abroad can be used by consular officials, lawyers and civil society organisations responding to detention cases. Speakers included MNA Ilyas Chaudhary and a consultation session brought together representatives such as Secretary Nadeem Aslam from the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, members of parliamentary human rights committees, the Ambassador of Portugal and consular staff from the EU and Ireland to discuss strengthened coordination between legal, diplomatic and civil society actors.<\/p>\n
The Detained Abroad platform offers country-specific analysis of domestic and international legal frameworks that affect foreign detainees, including information on capital punishment, protections against torture, consular rights, fair trial guarantees and prisoner repatriation mechanisms. The registry also provides a vetted directory of local lawyers, civil society organisations and national human rights institutions so practitioners and families can quickly identify trusted in-country support when urgent legal assistance is required.<\/p>\n
The launch highlighted the broader context for the registry: an estimated 21,000 Pakistanis are imprisoned abroad, and as of April 2024 at least 1,107 foreign nationals were incarcerated across Pakistan. Afghan nationals comprise the majority of those detainees at 64 percent (703), Many foreign detainees in Pakistan are charged under the Foreigners Act, 1946 (416 prisoners) and the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 (119 prisoners), and Indian nationals are largely charged under the Control of Entry Act, 1952 (222 prisoners), underscoring systemic challenges in cross-border detention and the urgent need for timely consular access and legal safeguards.<\/p>\n
Haris Zaki, Advocacy Lead at Justice Project Pakistan, said ‘Foreign nationals detained abroad often face unfamiliar legal systems, language barriers and limited access to legal representation or consular support. Detained Abroad provides accessible legal information that can help practitioners, families and advocates navigate these systems and better protect detainees\u2019 rights.’ The High Commissioner of Canada noted that Canada was pleased to support the registry as a first-of-its-kind resource to help safeguard the rights of Canadians, Pakistanis and other nationals detained in the region. Senator Zeeshan Khanzada emphasised the state\u2019s responsibility to protect overseas Pakistanis and the need for more timely consular assistance.<\/p>\n
Developed through research and consultations with legal practitioners, NGOs and UN agencies across the region, Detained Abroad aims to strengthen legal defence strategies, improve consular engagement and support more coordinated responses to detention cases. For Pakistani families and practitioners dealing with cross-border detention, the registry represents a practical tool to navigate complex legal landscapes and secure better protection for detainees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JPP launches Detained Abroad registry to strengthen consular rights and legal support for foreign detainees and Pakistani citizens overseas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17835,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17834\/revisions\/17835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}