Saudi orders release of 850 Indian prisoners

Coinciding with the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India, Saudi Arabia yesterday ordered release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in its jails. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the decision was taken on the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Another big deliverable! At the request of the PM, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has ordered the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails,” he said in a tweet. He said HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also announced an increase in the quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to two lakh at the request of Prime Minister Modi. The present quota is about 1.75 lakh. During his visit to Pakistan two days back, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman had agreed to release over 2,000 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails.