JEDDAH, 17 June 2003 — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) has urged Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali to consider its proposal for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis who have been languishing in Bangladesh camps for over three decades.
The PRC proposal envisages repatriation of the stranded people under a self-finance scheme.
The council has proposed that heads of the families of stranded Pakistanis be issued Pakistani passports so that they can seek employment abroad.
The PRC at a meeting held on Saturday urged Islamabad to reactivate the Rabita Trust that has been assigned the task of the stranded Pakistanis’ repatriation and their rehabilitation in Pakistan.
Speaking by telephone from the United States, Syed Ehteshamuddin Arshad, chairman of the PRC, told the meeting that an audit carried out recently cleared the Rabita Trust of embezzlement charges.
He said Prime Minister Jamali should take over as the chairman of the Rabita Trust because the post was previously held by prime ministers.
This would also expedite the resolution of the issue, he said.
The meeting also expressed it condolences over the death of Haseeb Hashmi, Sururul Huda and Abdur Raziq Khan. Abdur Raziq Khan was gunned down in Karachi last week.
PRC Secretary-General Mumtaz Alam in his message to the meeting condemned the murder of Abdur Raziq Khan. He urged the government to investigate the killing.
Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi said the Pakistan government should give top priority to the issue of stranded Pakistanis’ repatriation.
“They have made enormous sacrifices for Pakistan and we cannot deny them their due rights,” he said.
PRC convener Ehsanul Haque said the killing of Abdur Raziq Khan in broad daylight in Karachi was a cause of grave concern.
