JEDDAH, 12 September 2003 — The Pakistan Repatriation Council has welcomed the recent ruling of the Lahore High Court in favor of the repatriation and rehabilitation of a quarter million Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh for more than three decades. A council statement released to Arab News yesterday urged President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to implement the historic court decision “without any further delay.”
The PRC statement praised the role of judiciary in recognizing “the legitimate rights of those quarter million Pakistanis who have been languishing in 66 camps in Bangladesh for the past 32 years.”
Meanwhile, the PRC organized a reception at Kababish restaurant here in honor of Muzaffar Ejaz, editor of Jasarat daily, who is in the Kingdom to perform Umrah. The reception was attended by prominent members of the Pakistani community.
Ejaz stressed the role of Pakistani expatriates in building the nation’s image abroad and boosting the country’s economy. He vowed Jasarat would act as a bridge between the nation and overseas Pakistanis by covering issues that were important to them.
Ejaz also had praise for the PRC’s role in highlighting the issue of the stranded Pakistanis. He said the question was a national issue and his paper would continue projecting their plight.
PRC convener Ehsanul Haque thanked Jasarat for highlighting what he called “the largely ignored issue” and thanked community leaders for their support.