Irfan Haq: A Pakistani who smuggled drugs (executed in Saudi Arabia)

This story is from a Pakistani city Sargodha, where every morning Father Haji Abdul Haq wakes up wondering about his son who is imprisoned by the Saudi Arabian government.

His son has been arrested in Heroin smuggling case in Saudi Arabia and is in a death row waiting for his death and his name to be added to the growing roles of Pakistani executed this year for Heroin smuggling.

Haji Abdul Haq told to AFP that his son Mohammad Irfan who is 27  and a father of two daughters, awaits his death in Saudi prison of Al-Ha’ir, thousands of miles away from their native land. He related the story how Mohammad Irfan was imprisoned there.

Haq said, about four years ago, two men came and said that they are working for many poor Pakistanis and would give a plane ticket and visa for just $2,000. On hearing this sentence, Irfan dreamed to go to the foreign country to earn a better living for his family and agreed on their offer.

Irfan sold his rickshaw and his wife’s jewels to arrange some money while some money was arranged by his tea seller father. Haq told that after all the arrangements, that the two men took his son to Karachi, which is said to be a key transportation point of Heroin from Afghanistan.

Haq said on reaching there, everything was changed and the truth was revealed. The two men changed and said that they would kill him unless he did what they wanted, and forced capsules of Heroin into his anus and his son was put on a flight to Saudi Arabia.

On arrival in Riyadh he was stopped by a customs officer and after a sharp trial, he was sentenced to death. This is not the first story from Pakistan, Pakistan is full of stories about drug mules but the sad part is that these stories are never discussed in Public.

A few of them come forward and gets little sympathy. Such stories should be discussed in Public to create awareness among the people.

Haji Abdul Haq has pleaded with different Pakistani officials including Nawaz Sharif the ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan to talk to the Saudi authorities on behalf of his son.

In 2014, 15 Pakistani citizens were imprisoned for drug smuggling in Saudi Arabia. The sad point is that the families campaigners complain their trials are unfairand accused that Pakistani government to help its citizen and is afraid of an offending and hugely wealthy supporter.

Saudi Arabia supplies oil and financial aid to Pakistan, this is the reason they don’t want to destroy their good relations with the helping country. The prisoners of Pakistan also criticize Pakistani government for sacrificing its own citizensfor the sake of good relations with an ally.

Haji Abdul Haq said that Saudi Arabia is trying to cut all the branches of drugs Mafia from Saudi Arabia but still there are many drugs Mafia that cannot be vanished totally.

Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani Analyst said that government relations with Saudi Arabia are too important that they cannot be sacrificed for the individual who is responsible for their own actions. Riyadh says that it wants to protect the Saudi society from the curse of Heroin.