New Delhi: There are 5,986 Indian nationals lodged in foreign jails with the highest being in Saudi Arabia. 71 Indian nationals have completed their sentences and are waiting for completion of deportation formalities in the foreign jails, minister of state for external affairs Gen V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. Of the total 5,986 Indians in foreign jails, 1,400 (23 per cent) of them are in Saudi Arabia alone. The next highest tally comes from UAE which has 985 Indian prisoners followed by Pakistan which has 468. The minister said that as per the information provided by the Indian high commission in Islamabad, there are 219 civil prisoners, believed to be Indians, in Pakistani jails.

However, as per information provided by Pakistani authorities to the Indian high commission on July 1, there are 47 civil prisoners believed to be Indians in Pakistani jails, he said. As per information available with the mission, besides civil prisoners, as on date, there are 249 Indian fishermen believed to be Indians, the written reply said. While UK has 430 Indians in its jails, Nepal has 377, Malaysia has 332 and Kuwait has 274. The maximum number of Indian who have finished their sentences and are awaiting deportation is in Bangladesh. There are 37 such Indians while another 20 are in Malaysia.