There are several institutions dedicated to narcotics control in Pakistan. There exist six Control of Narcotics Courts spread out over Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad. However, the courts have a reputation for a very low rate of conviction and protracted delays. They have not locally investigated any one of the cases of Pakistani detainees in GCC jails, nor has there been any move to request information from these detainees to carry out domestic investigations. Even those individuals or licenced agents that have had successful complaints lodged against them, can disappear and not respond to the show cause notice or close their offices. The lack of coordination between the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) – a border control, criminal investigation, counter-intelligence and security agency – and Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, among other agencies, or simple indifference clearly jeopardizes the lives of Pakistani migrant workers seeking employment opportunities abroad. At present, there exists no common database for these complaints and many often end up being duplicated and remain unresolved. There is a need for coordination between authorities responsible for 2 oversight of OEPs and subagents and those dealing with smuggling and trafficking. The governance of migratory movements when seen as a clearly demarcated area, with responsibilities delineated between the various institutions, hinders joint efforts to prevent victims of drug trafficking from being exploited by fraudulent actors. To date, no relief has been provided to detainees on death row on narcotics smuggling charges by any of the various institutions responsible for controlling migration, trafficking and smuggling. Once migrant workers are imprisoned abroad, they must navigate an unfamiliar criminal justice system without consular assistance. Based on interviews conducted with detainees, their family members, and Pakistanis in the GCC advocating for the rights of detainees, most of the prisoners did not seek consular services because they felt they would be wasting their time, energy and limited phone calls since the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah had a reputation of being unresponsive and unhelpful. According to them, embassy officials rarely visited them or provided any assistance, unlike embassy officials from other countries who regularly visited their prisoners. As one detainee noted, “Who could I ask for help for the appeals process? Our embassy doesn’t even come to see Pakistani citizens in jail, why would they help us in an appeals process? They just don’t have time.”8 Those who did contact Pakistani officials only received assistance with matters such as deportation or, at most, the payment of fines. Pakistan has yet to implement a consular policy that provides adequate protocols to officials to provide financial and legal assistance to Pakistanis imprisoned abroad, despite having a significant number of its citizens in prisons all over the world. Inadequate oversight and the lack of proper enforcement of existing protections is a literal death sentence for scores of Pakistanis who simply seek a better life and improved prospects for loved ones by working abroad. 3