29 Bangladeshis released from Pakistan prisons returning home

Twenty-nine Bangladeshi nationals, who were released from Malir and Karachi jails of Pakistan, are set to return to the country today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release in this regard.

Eight more Bangladeshis are supposed to return to the country tomorrow after serving their jail terms at Malir prison in Pakistan's Sindh province. The eight expatriate workers -- legally employed on an Omani fishing boat -- were held by Pakistani coast guard for entering the country's water territory in the Arab sea. They will return to Bangladesh with the funding of foreign ministry, UNB said quoting the press release.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen directly supervised the issue to bring them back to the country within the shortest possible time and decided to bear all expenses including plane fare considering their financial condition, the release stated.

The repatriation was made through constant liaison with Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi, the Ministry of Home Affairs in Sindh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan and the Mali prison authorities while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society coordinated the process, it said.

The release added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its all-out efforts to ensure the safety and welfare of Bangladeshi expatriates worldwide.