Cairo: Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik has pardoned 285 prisoners on the occasion of the first anniversary of his ascendancy to the throne, the Omani news agency ONA reported Sunday.
The pardoned inmates include 118 foreigners, the agency said without providing a breakdown of their nationalities.
The royal gesture also comes “out of care for families of these inmates,” it added.
Assumed power
Haitham assumed power on January 11, 2020, a day after the death of his cousin sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed, deemed the founder of modern Oman. Qaboos passed away aged 79 after ruling Oman for nearly 50 years.
Haitham has pledged to follow Qaboos’ foreign policy of peaceful coexistence and non-interference in other countries’ affairs.
He has also promised to build on Qaboos’ legacy of keeping Oman’s development and maintaining friendly ties with all countries. He has since sought to revamp the country’s administrative apparatus and economy dented by a fall in oil prices.
