New Delhi/Doha/IANS
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India’s cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yesterday approved the signing of a treaty on transfer of prisoners between India and Qatar. |
The treaty will allow Indian prisoners imprisoned in Qatar or vice-versa to be near their families, for serving the remaining part of their sentence and facilitate their social rehabilitation, said an official statement.
The Indian community in Qatar is the single-largest expatriate group. According to the foreign ministry, at the end of 2012, the number of Indians there was estimated at close to 500,000, approximately 26% of Qatar’s population of 1.9mn. According to the latest figures released by the Qatari Ministry of Planning and Statistics the country’s population is 2.27mn.
India has so far signed such agreements with more than 20 countries, including Britain, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Russia and Australia. Negotiations have also been concluded with Canada, Hong Kong, Nigeria and Spain, the official statement said.
There are 90 Indian prisoners in Qatar as on November 27, it was revealed at a community Open House recently held in Doha.
