detainees in GCC jails, nor has there been any move to request information from these detainees to carry out domestic investigations. According to an exchange with the Pakistani mission in Saudi Arabia, attempts have been made to obtain information “disclosed by (Pakistani) nationals” to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs so investigations can be conducted regarding the “perpetrators/masterminds back home”. However, they have been of no avail and according to the consulate in Jeddah, Pakistani missions do not get information about arrested Pakistanis and are only provided with a list of prisoners twice a year. In situations such as these, the Pakistani MoFA has an important role to play, coordinating with foreign governments to not only increase security measures at home but prevent harm to innocent Pakistani citizens. The failure to do so shows indifference manifested in a lack of coordination between the different institutions capable of providing relief to falsely imprisoned migrant worker prisoners. 3.4 Criminalisation Pakistani consular authorities and domestic anti-narcotic operations have turned somewhat of a blind eye to the unjust convictions and subsequent mistreatment of its citizens languishing in foreign jails. In fact, the language of the draft consular policy and the perception that individuals deceived and coerced into smuggling drugs are responsible for their own plight, adds a discriminatory and unwarranted layer of criminality to the migrant worker prisoners’ plight abroad. Government officials, however, see victims are perpetrators. As one Pre-Departure Briefing Officer remarked, “We take every step possible to warn intending migrants of the dangers of smuggling drugs, however, their greed often overshadows any concerns for personal safety.”46 The criminalisation of victims of trafficking is not a novel phenomenon. Neither is the shifting of accountability onto the exploited migrant, rather than acknowledging and tackling the systemic inefficiencies that lead to the intimidation and harassment of innocent citizens. The Trafficking Protocol recognises the pervasiveness of this dangerous mindset, advocating for the enactment of laws that de-criminalise any acts carried out by a trafficked person under duress.47 Moreover, the recognition of individuals who are forced to smuggle drugs as the lowest in the hierarchy of drug syndicates is a vital step towards acknowledging the defencelessness of citizens as puppets in the narcotics trade. Instead of advocating for the innocence and lives of their prisoners, domestic stakeholders play a role in contributing to the criminalisation of Pakistani migrant worker prisoners. In 2009, a family of three was arrested while on their way to perform Umrah.48 Their travel agent had provided them with special sandals that he told them would help them be identified by his counterpart agent in Saudi. However, the sandals contained heroin and the family was arrested at Jeddah airport. 23