Blog: Dear Imran Khan, please bring my daughter back from a Saudi prison

[FuturePAF]

The woman in this case should be asked to give up the names of all those involved, so that the larger fish can be caught.

 

[khail007]

Unfortunately our people have been using religious tourism for begging and making money, I knew a family of maids from South Punjab who would go to Saudi during Ramazan and Hajj timing, the reason was they would make handsome money begging there. The reason you hear iranians telling us that Pakistanis are beggars.

It happens exactly as you explained ... Even in UAE specially in North it is quite visible in early hours while people travel to their workplaces, you will find expatriates begging at traffic signals or in evening on busy roads sometime you will find them begging in the form of family comprising husband, wife and children. Some time I think upon the money they spent on visa/air tickets, could reasonably earn them bread and butter back home with honour.

 

[Arsalan]

her family deserves to knw How she is, where she is and how long her sentence is.



Her family deserves to know all the information. Will they treat American or European prisoners the same? Nah they can drink freely there and there are underground parties involving Sheikhs. Even if she smuggled drugs which I am against, Saudis should let her family know the details.

They should, absolutely. Its her right and the right of her family and if they are not complying with that then it is criminal on part of Saudi government.
Still, this DO NOT MAKES IT A SHIA-SUNNI matter as some posters tried to and to which i posted the above reply.

TO ALL: Unfortunately, people are STILL trying to somehow involve sectarianism in all this. Consider all deleted posts as the first SOFT WARNING. Any more posts fueled by sectarianism will be issued warning/de-merit points.

 

[B.K.N]

They should, absolutely. Its her right and the right of her family and if they are not complying with that then it is criminal on part of Saudi government.
Still, this DO NOT MAKES IT A SHIA-SUNNI matter as some posters tried to and to which i posted the above reply.

this is what saudis do with drug trafficers and her family most likely already knows about it

 

[Indus Pakistan]

It has been five long years.

Sadly the adage "don't do the crime if you can't do the crime applies here". And my advice to other ladies thinking of making some easy money by running as mules is run the gauntlet to USA, Europe or other Western country. Then if you do get caught, first they rarely hang females and secondly you can play on the Pakistan sympathies by raking the general hatred of the West. Maybe even earn the title of "daughter of Pakistan" and turn crimnality into martyrdom.

 

[VCheng]

"don't do the crime if you can't do the crime

Eh?

I thought it was "don't do the crime if you can't do the time".

 

[B.K.N]

Eh?

I thought it was "don't do the crime if you can't do the time".

By this he means if you are not skilled enough to commit crime successfuly then don't do it

 

[khail007]

this is what saudis do with drug trafficers and her family most likely already knows about it

IMO the drug trafficking mafia thinks that using females in this trade will earn those poor victims some leniency if caught red handed - may be they are not aware that KSA deals against such crimes without considering genders.

 

[B.K.N]

IMO the drug trafficking mafia thinks that using females in this trade will earn those poor victims some leniency if caught red handed - may be they are not aware that KSA deals against such crimes without considering genders.

They think women would not be searched like men

 

[VCheng]

By this he means if you are not skilled enough to commit crime successfuly then don't do it

Lyrics

Don't go to bed, with no price on your head - No, no, don't do it.
Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time - Yeah, don't do it.
And keep your eye on the sparrow.
When the going gets narrow.
Don't do it, don't do it.
Where can I go where the cold winds don't blow,
Now. Well, well, well.

Songwriters: David Grusin / Morgan Ames
Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

 

[B.K.N]

Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time -

This I guess means don't do the crime if you can't spend time in jail

 

[VCheng]

This I guess means don't do the crime if you can't spend time in jail

That is what the adage is.

 

[HAIDER]

The following was narrated by Haleema Bibi to Ali Haider Habib of the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) about her daughter, Sameena, who was arrested in Saudi Arabia and remains in prison there to this day.

It has been five long years. Five years that feel like 50. My daughter Sameena was going to perform Umrah. She had been there a few times before and she’d managed to save up enough to go again. How fortunate was she to be able to perform Umrah for a second time?



There was an air of celebration, excitement and gratitude. I couldn’t wait for her to come back and tell me her stories. I told her what duas to recite, and who to pray for. Above all, I told her to be careful. We are not ones to cross oceans every day.



Before Sameena left Karachi, an acquaintance asked her to take some medicines with her. He said a man would come to collect them from the airport and that she would be given some money for bringing them to Saudi Arabia. He told her she would be paid the equivalent of around Rs15,000 to 20,000 upon her arrival. That is a considerable sum for people with our limited means. She thought it would help her with the travel expenses there. Maybe she could even save some of it to bring back home. That’s how we had always scraped by, depending on the generosity of relatives and neighbours.



The medicines, however, turned out to be contraband.



Sameena was arrested immediately upon her arrival in Jeddah. I found out days later that she had been imprisoned. There was no official communication, no legal help. She was not provided a lawyer or any other legal guidance. I don't even know how long she has been sentenced for. I only know it’s been five years that I haven’t seen my daughter.



I yearn for her face every day. To run my hands through her hair, to hold her in my arms. There is no greater pain for a mother than to be separated from her child. Sameena is now around 32 or 33-years-old. But to me, she is a baby. My baby.



I pray to Prime Minister Imran Khan to bring my daughter back. To return her to me. We heard that he had requested the Saudi government to release Pakistani prisoners. I cannot stop wondering if Sameena will be one of the 2,107 prisoners they have promised to release.



I am old now. I do not have the strength to bear this grief anymore. So I try to turn my despair into hope. I spent my waking hours’ daydreaming. Dreaming about Sameena’s return. Had she come back just in time for us to spend Eid together, maybe we could have had a feast. Yes! We would have invited everyone. They would have seen our joy and would have wanted to be part of it. Five years is too long a wait. It’s time for her to come back.



They’ll let her now, won’t they?

Greed for few rupee landed her in jail. Plus on top KSA has no judicial system to handle such cases. It been known for ages never accept anything from stranger , specially going any foreign country. I would blame her for this mistake. But, hopefully KSA govt provide her some legal assistance and catch the real culprits.