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The US Department of Homeland Security did not intimate the Pakistani Embassy or consulates about the reasons for such arrests or the place where prisoners are detained until its investigations are completed, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Amad Khan said.
"We only come to know when the US Departments of Immigration, Customs and Enforcement approach us for issuance of travel document, while prisoners who complete their sentence are repatriated to Pakistan at US expense," he told the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament during question hour.
Members of the Pakistani community are generally imprisoned in US jails on charges like overstaying, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, illegal arms possession and other minor crimes, Khan said.
"Even after prosecution and sentencing, the deportees choose to stay back in the US and prefer to contest the removal orders rather than repatriation to Pakistan," he said.
In a separate development, the Foreign Ministry informed the National Assembly that 1,211 Pakistani prisoners, including 15 women, were currently in jails in the United Arab Emirates.
In a written reply, the ministry said the Pakistanis were being held in jails in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm-ul-Quain, Ajman and Fujairah.
The Pakistani were arrested on charges like possession of drugs, theft, assault, murder, embezzlement, immoral behaviour, rape, prostitution, kidnapping and bribery.
