{ "schema_version": "qanun-law-text/1", "id": "punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707", "title": "TRANSFER OF OFFENDERSS ORDINANCE, 2002", "source_collection": "Punjab", "content_kind": "stored_law_text", "content_extent": null, "source_url": "https://punjabcode.punjab.gov.pk/en/show_article/VGEHMgIwAjo-", "version": null, "source_snapshot": "2026-08-06T17:03:47Z", "legal_status": "not independently verified", "text_quality": "Complete stored UTF-8 TXT file recovered byte-for-byte from owned Drive. Source transcription retained verbatim; legal completeness, OCR accuracy and current consolidation unverified.", "text_sha256": "1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509", "source_sha256": "1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509", "text_version_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509", "quality_flags": [], "encoding": "UTF-8", "text": "THE TRANSFER OF OFFENDERS ORDINANCE, 2002 \r\n(XXXVII of 2002) \r\nCONTENTS \r\n1. Short title, extent and commencement \r\n2. Definitions \r\n3. Application of the Ordinance \r\n4. Competent Authority to make an application requesting the transfer of an \r\noffender \r\n5. Application to be made by an appropriate authority \r\n6. Condition of ‘transfer \r\n7. Issue of warrant by the Competent; Authority \r\n8. No. withdrawal of consent after issue of warrant \r\n9. Inspector-General of Prisons to have the custody of an offender \r\n10. Effect of any warrant issued by the Competent Authority \r\n11. Removal of an offender in custody to any other place in Pakistan \r\n12. Remission and President’s powers to grant pardon \r\n13. No appeal or revision of a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon: \r\noffender who is a citizen of Pakistan \r\n14. Power to make rules \r\nTEXT \r\nTHE TRANSFER OF OFFENDERS ORDINANCE, 2002 \r\n(XXXVII of 2002) \r\n[3rd August, 2002] \r\nAn \r\nOrdinance \r\nto provide for transfer of a citizen of Pakistan convicted of an offence in a foreign \r\ncountry to Pakistan and a citizen of a foreign country convicted of an offence in Pakistan \r\nto that country \r\nPreamble.– WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for transfer of a citizen of Pakistan \r\nconvicted of an offence in a foreign country to Pakistan and a citiz en of a foreign \r\ncountry convicted of an offence in Pakistan to that country and for matters connected \r\ntherewith or ancillary thereto; \r\nAND WHEREAS the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render \r\nit necessary to take immediate action; \r\nNOW, THEREFORE , in pursuance of the Proclamation of Emergency of the \r\nfourteenth day of October, 1999, and the Provisional Constitution Order No. I of 1999, \r\nread with the Provisional Constitution (Amendment) Order No. 9 of 1999, and in \r\nexercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President of the Islamic Repub lic \r\nof Pakistan is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:– \r\n1. Short title, extent and commencement .– (1) This Ordinance may be called the \r\nTransfer of Offenders Ordinance, 2002. \r\n(2) It shall come into force at once. \r\n(3) It extends to the whole of Pakistan. \r\n2. Definitions.– ln this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject \r\nor context,– \r\n(a) “agreement’ means an agreement entered into between Pakistan and any \r\nother country relating to the mutual transfer of offenders between the two \r\ncountries; \r\n(b) “appropriate authority”, in relation to a specified country, means a person \r\nor body of persons in a specified country referred to in the agreement as \r\nthe authority responsible for administering the transfer of offenders to, and \r\nfrom, such country; \r\n(c) “Competent Authority” means the Secretary, Ministry of Interior and \r\nNarcotics Control (Interior Division) or any other person as the Competent \r\nAuthority may be notified in official Gazette, authorize to exercise powers \r\nand perform functions, of the Competent Authority under this Ordinance; \r\n(d) “Inspector-General of Prisons” means the person who is for the time being \r\nholding office as the Inspector-General of Prisons in a Province; \r\n(e) “offender” means a person who is convicted of a n offence whether \r\ncommitted before or after the commencement of this Ordinance and is for \r\nthe time being serving a sentence of imprisonment by virtue of an order \r\nmade either by any Court in Pakistan or by a Court or other institution, \r\nexercising judicial p ower which is empowered to make such order, in any \r\nspecified country; \r\n(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules; \r\n(g) “rules” means rules made under this Ordinance; and \r\n(h) “specified country” means a country which entered into an agreement for \r\nmutual tr ansfer of offenders with Pakistan and notified as such by the \r\nFederal Government by notification in the official Gazette. \r\n3. Application of the Ordinance .– Where an agreement for mutual transfer of \r\noffenders has been entered into between Pakistan and any s pecified country, whether \r\nbefore or after the commencement of this Ordinance, the Competent Authority shall, by \r\nnotification in the official Gazette, declare that the provisions of this Ordinance shall \r\napply in respect of such county. \r\n4. Competent Authority to make an application requesting the transfer of an \r\noffender.– (1) The Competent Authority may make an application to an appropriate \r\nauthority in a specified country, requesting the transfer to that country of any offender \r\nwho is, or is suspected to be, a citizen of that country. \r\n(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (1), any offender who \r\nclaims to be a citizen of a specified country may, through the concerned Inspector -\r\nGeneral of Prisons, make an application to the Competent Authority to be transferred to \r\nthe specified country of which he claims to be a citizen and the Competent Authority \r\nmay, where considers it appropriate, make a request on behalf of such offender under \r\nsub-section (1) to the appropriate authority of such specified country. \r\n(3) Every application for a request under this section shall be made in such \r\nform and be accompanied by such documents as may be prescribed. \r\n(4) Where the Competent Authority makes an application at the request of an \r\noffender, it shall inform such offender in writing of the action or decision taken both by \r\nthe Competent Authority and the appropriate Authority of the specified country in \r\nrelation to his request for a transfer. \r\n5. Application to be made by an appropriate authority.– (1) An application made \r\nto the Competent Authori ty by an appropriate authority of a specified country for the \r\ntransfer to Pakistan of an offender who claims to be a citizen of Pakistan shall be \r\nentertained if:– \r\n(a) such application is made in the form prescribed for the purpose; \r\n(b) a copy of the order, decision or judgment by which such offender was \r\nsentenced to the term of imprisonment, certified as correct by the appropriate authority \r\nof such specified country is attached to the application. \r\n(2) Where the Competent Autho rity, b y order, allows an application made \r\nunder sub-section (1), the copy of the order, decision or judgment, as the case may be, \r\nattached to an application shall be proof of the facts stated therein and shall have effect \r\nas if it was an order, decision or judgment, as the case may be, passed by a Court of \r\ncompetent jurisdiction in Pakistan. \r\n6. Condition of transfer.– The transfer of any offender on an application made \r\nunder this Ordinance shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:- \r\n(a) that the offender is a citizen of Pakistan or of the specified country, \r\nnotwithstanding he may also be a citizen of any other country; \r\n(b) that the order, decision or judgment by which the sentence of \r\nimprisonment was imposed on the offender is a final order, dec ision or \r\njudgment; \r\n(c) that at the time of the application for the transfer is made, the offender \r\nconcerned ha s more than six months left to serve of the term of \r\nimprisonment imposed on him or that the term of imprisonment imposed \r\nwas for an unspecified period; \r\n(d) that the offender consents to the transfer or where, in view of his age or \r\nphysical or mental status, be is unable to give his consent, the consent \r\nshall be given by such other person who is designated either by the \r\nCompetent Authority or the a ppropriate authority of a specified country as \r\nbeing competent to give consent on behalf of the offender; and \r\n(e) that both the Competent Authority and the appropriate authority of the \r\nspecified country consent to his transfer. \r\n7. Issue of warrant by the C ompetent Authority.– (1) Subject to sub-section (3), \r\nthe Competent Authority may, if considers it appropriate issue or cause to be issued, a \r\nwarrant authorizing the transfer out of Pakistan to a specified country of any offender. \r\n(2) The warrant to be iss ued under sub -section (1) shall be in the prescribed \r\nform under the hand of the Competent Authority, \r\n(3) The Competent Authority shall not issue a warrant under sub -section (1) \r\nunless it is satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to inform th e offender \r\nbeing transferred, in writing, in his own language, or a language he understands, of the \r\neffects and consequences of such transfer in relation to such offender. \r\n(4) The Competent Authority shall on the date of issuing of a warrant under \r\nsub-section (1) cause a copy thereof to be served on the concerned Inspector -General \r\nof Prisons. \r\n(5) A warrant issued under sub -section (1) shall be deemed to be sufficient \r\nauthority for the concerned Inspector -General of Prisons to deliver, or cause the \r\ndelivery of, such offender to any person authorized to receive such offender and to keep \r\nhim in custody and deliver him to the custody of a person, duly authorized by the \r\nappropriate authority in the specified country, to take the custody of such offender. \r\n8. No. withdrawal of consent after issue of warrant.– On or after the issue of a \r\nwarrant under Section 7, the consent given under clause (d) of Section 6 by the \r\noffender, in respect of whom such warrant was issued, shall be final and irrevocable \r\nand any purport ed withdrawal of a consent given after the issue of a warrant shall not \r\naffect the validity of such warrant or an directions given in relation to such warrant. \r\n9. Inspector-General of Prisons to have the custody of an offender transferred \r\nto Pakistan .– (1) Every offender being transferred to Pakistan from any specified \r\ncountry, upon an order under Section 4 shall be formally handed over to the Inspector -\r\nGeneral of Prisons so nominated by the Competent Authority and the concerned \r\nInspector-General of Priso ns shall have the authority to keep such offender in custody \r\nin any place as may appear to him to be appropriate for giving effect to the sentence of \r\nimprisonment imposed on such offender in such specified country for the period of the \r\nsentence as if it were a sentence imposed by a Court in Pakistan. \r\n(2) The enforcement of the sentence of imprisonment imposed on any \r\noffender who is transferred to Pakistan under sub -section (1) shall be governed by the \r\nlaws of Pakistan. \r\n(3) Notwithstanding anything containe d in sub -section (2) the Competent \r\nAuthority shall, unless otherwise specified in the agreement, be bound by the legal \r\nnature and duration of the sentence of imprisonment imposed on any offender \r\ntransferred to Pakistan under sub-section (1). \r\n(4) Where the legal nature and duration of the sentence of imprisonment \r\nimposed on any offender transferred under sub-section (1), is incompatible with any law \r\nof Pakistan, it shall be lawful for a Court of competent jurisdiction in Pakistan to adopt \r\nsuch sentence to ma ke it compatible with laws of Pakistan provided however that the \r\nsentence as adopted by such Court in Pakistan corresponds, as far as practicable, to \r\nthe sentence imposed on such offender in the specified country from which such \r\noffender was transferred to Pakistan. \r\n10. Effect of any warrant issued by the Competent Authority .– (i) The effect of a \r\nwarrant issued by the Competent Authority under section 7 shall be to authorize:– \r\n(a) the taking of the offender to any place within Pakistan and his delivery at a \r\nplace of departure from Pakistan into the custody of person duly \r\nauthorized by the appropriate authority in the specified country to which he \r\nis being transferred to take such custody of the offender; and \r\n(b) the removal of the offender, by the person in to whose custody he was \r\ndelivered, to any place outside Pakistan. \r\n11. Removal of an offender in custody to any other place in Pakistan.– (1) Any \r\noffender committed to custody under section 9 or 10 who escapes from such custody, \r\nmay be sent to any place in Pakistan in like manner as a person escaping from custody \r\nunder a warrant for his arrest issued in that place in respect of an offence committed \r\ntherein. \r\n(2) Where any offender, who is in custody under section 9 or 10, is required to \r\nbe removed from the p lace where he is held in custody to any other place in Pakistan \r\nhe shall be deemed to continue to be in legal custody until he reache s the place to \r\nwhich he is required to be transferred. \r\n12. Remission and President’s powers to grant pardon .– (1) An offen der who is \r\ntransferred to Pakistan in terms of section 9 shall be subject to any remission of the \r\nsentence of imprisonment, imposed on him in the specified country where he was \r\nconvicted, to which he may have become entitled to on the date of his transfer in \r\naccordance with the laws relating to remission of a sentence in force in such specified \r\ncountry. \r\n(2) Nothing in this Ordinance shall be so construed as to limit or take away \r\nthe power of the President to grant pardon or remission of sentence to any offe nder \r\nunder Article 45 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or by any other \r\nauthority under any law of Pakistan for the time being in force. \r\n13. No appeal or revision of a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon an \r\noffender who is a citize n of Pakistan .– The sentence of imprisonment imposed on \r\nany offender who is a citizen of Pakistan in any specified country shall not be subject to \r\nany appeal or revision in any Court of Pakistan, notwithstanding th e fact that the order, \r\ndecision or judgmen t imposing such sentence is deemed to be an order, decision or \r\njudgment imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in Pakistan. \r\n14. Power to make rules.– The Competent Authority may, by notification in the \r\nofficial Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpose of this Ordinance.", "passage_offset_convention": "zero-based Unicode code points and UTF8 bytes; end exclusive", "passages": [ { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-0-1729:ceb936dcd05fc452d2cbfa05eebbcd54a19f22e4b9f82435198ba16b74460134", "character_start": 0, "character_end": 1729, "utf8_byte_start": 0, "utf8_byte_end": 1735, "passage_sha256": "ceb936dcd05fc452d2cbfa05eebbcd54a19f22e4b9f82435198ba16b74460134", "reader_fragment": "p-0-1729-ceb936dcd05fc452" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-1729-3464:e1cdbf66e70b663d7cc102f57b9592a05ac000e3ee5ae72705d8b0b9f65def8a", "character_start": 1729, "character_end": 3464, "utf8_byte_start": 1735, "utf8_byte_end": 3498, "passage_sha256": "e1cdbf66e70b663d7cc102f57b9592a05ac000e3ee5ae72705d8b0b9f65def8a", "reader_fragment": "p-1729-3464-e1cdbf66e70b663d" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-3464-5225:73fbd2b830b0e5cac05f50ea1691009ef81cc359e2f72e4564cf2c9a4f9af707", "character_start": 3464, "character_end": 5225, "utf8_byte_start": 3498, "utf8_byte_end": 5275, "passage_sha256": "73fbd2b830b0e5cac05f50ea1691009ef81cc359e2f72e4564cf2c9a4f9af707", "reader_fragment": "p-3464-5225-73fbd2b830b0e5ca" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-5225-7024:ff0dba0c8758219b935144077f00962664eaaacde6f9eced23e85424541c1793", "character_start": 5225, "character_end": 7024, "utf8_byte_start": 5275, "utf8_byte_end": 7080, "passage_sha256": "ff0dba0c8758219b935144077f00962664eaaacde6f9eced23e85424541c1793", "reader_fragment": "p-5225-7024-ff0dba0c8758219b" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-7024-8768:f97eba24ae69deadf75d2bea2f4576f6b64b3876e11c24c3167ff078a7623583", "character_start": 7024, "character_end": 8768, "utf8_byte_start": 7080, "utf8_byte_end": 8826, "passage_sha256": "f97eba24ae69deadf75d2bea2f4576f6b64b3876e11c24c3167ff078a7623583", "reader_fragment": "p-7024-8768-f97eba24ae69dead" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-8768-10557:9d97d654051dbb4e56feb29ce8fa0dd5b7ba2bd72d9e0c92606bba4c41777bf7", "character_start": 8768, "character_end": 10557, "utf8_byte_start": 8826, "utf8_byte_end": 10619, "passage_sha256": "9d97d654051dbb4e56feb29ce8fa0dd5b7ba2bd72d9e0c92606bba4c41777bf7", "reader_fragment": "p-8768-10557-9d97d654051dbb4e" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-10557-12355:c03612ddaa6fac1bde994ef921e14731b8864994d70e9c1e3d1eeb5302c49c8e", "character_start": 10557, "character_end": 12355, "utf8_byte_start": 10619, "utf8_byte_end": 12423, "passage_sha256": "c03612ddaa6fac1bde994ef921e14731b8864994d70e9c1e3d1eeb5302c49c8e", "reader_fragment": "p-10557-12355-c03612ddaa6fac1b" }, { "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-8eba5bed70e81707:sha256:1e5807403cbac7e53c658de6c5d75dd0165e81490b3e152d127746880a1af509:chars-12355-13818:05f862dc3980f11f774931916a1d6312131c5cd867718a02560e9d058c5f6a93", "character_start": 12355, "character_end": 13818, "utf8_byte_start": 12423, "utf8_byte_end": 13894, "passage_sha256": "05f862dc3980f11f774931916a1d6312131c5cd867718a02560e9d058c5f6a93", "reader_fragment": "p-12355-13818-05f862dc3980f11f" } ] }