JEDDAH, 30 March 2004 — Speakers paid tribute to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah at a function hosted by Pakistan Repatriation Council to observe Pakistan Day in Jeddah last week. The function, organized by Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC), was held to mark the 64th anniversary of Pakistan’s resolution passed in Lahore on March 23, 1940.
The function convened at Mehran restaurant was presided by Dr. Shoaib Akbar, consul welfare, at the Pakistani Consulate General. Bahrullah Hazarwi, director Haj, was the chief guest.
The meeting urged the Pakistani government to use all its resources to highlight the Kashmir issue, despite the start of its negotiations with India, in the international media and forums to make India arrange the plebiscite in Kashmir as per the UN resolution. It also condemned the construction of a barbed wire border fencing between the two parts of Kashmir. In a separate resolution, the meeting urged President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to activate the Rabita Trust and organize the repatriation and rehabilitation on the basis of PRC’s proposal of self-finance scheme.
“With different linguistic groups and regions, we’re united with the bond of Qur’an and Islam,” Dr. Akbar said. He called for strictly adhering to the teachings of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and others who worked zealously to create the country blessed with the Islamic principles of respect, brotherhood, tolerance and welfare.
“It’s our moral obligation to support the people of Kashmir in their just cause of seeking the right of self-determination,” he said, adding that he would forward to Islamabad the PRC’s resolutions and proposals on the issue of stranded Pakistanis. The present government is doing its best to project the national image worldwide and gain credibility in anti-terrorism, improve the foreign exchange reserves, education and other institutions back home in Pakistan. “We’ve also made a substantial progress in our campaign against corruption,” he said.
“We can realize the fate of our Kashmiri and Palestinian brethren who are still struggling for their legitimate rights with great sacrifice,” Hazarwi said. “Pakistanis living in miserable conditions in Bangladeshi camps are our brothers who sided with our army in the 1971 war. We need to work toward finding a solution to this issue and end their camp life.”
Farhan Siddiqui of Muslim Welfare and Development Organization appealed to all Muslims to alleviate the sufferings of Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh. He gave details of Chairman Nesar Ahmed’s efforts in this matter.
Ehsanul Haque, an engineer, said the contributions and sacrifices of Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal, Sher-e-Bengal Fazlul Haque and others who secured freedom for Pakistanis should be remembered with pride. “It’s unfortunate that we failed to hold the Pakistan of Quaid and Iqbal due to the vested interests of politicians and lust for power,” he said. For 33 years, a quarter million patriotic Pakistanis are languishing in 66 shanties in Bangladesh. They have sacrificed everything for the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan. “It’s our duty to settle them in Pakistan,” he said.
