UK and Pakistan in prisoner deal

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Pakistan and the UK have signed an accord to allow prisoners in each other's jails to serve their sentences in their home countries.

The deal was for family, cultural and language reasons, and transfers would require prisoner consent, Britain said.

More than 400 Pakistanis are currently in prison in Britain; 18 British citizens are in jail in Pakistan.

The deal concerns only those prisoners who have been tried and convicted in the country in which they are jailed.

Extradition talks

It is not clear whether any Britons who face the death penalty in Pakistan for drug offences will be allowed to return home.

Britain has said it is not willing to return any prisoners to Pakistan who might be executed there.

A statement from the High Commission said talks on the agreement began in 2005.

"The agreement is not the same as the UK-Pakistan Extradition Treaty, negotiations on which are ongoing," it said.