JEDDAH, 18 December 2005 — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) hosted a symposium here on Friday, the 34rd anniversary of the fall of Dhaka, that called for reinstatement of the Rabita Trust. The trust was formed in 1988 to aid ethnic Pakistanis who have been living in Bangladesh since the breakaway of the country from Pakistan in 1971.
Attendees of the forum — presided by Pakistani community leader Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi and attended by prominent poets Naseem Sehar, Abdul Qayyum Waseq, Syed Mohsin Alavi and Zamurrad Khan Saifi — also rejected calls for Pakistanis and their children who have lived in exile since Bengali independence to submit to becoming nationals of Bangladesh.
The session, conducted by Hamid Islam Khan, began with a reading from the Holy Qur’an by Mohammad Jamil Rathore. Naat was presented by Sher Afzal.
The poets paid tribute to what they called the martyrs of the war in 1971. They also praised the loyalty and patriotism to the Pakistanis that have been stranded in Bangladesh, living in squalid camps, caught in geopolitical forces beyond their control.
Tariq Mahmood said it is unfortunate that even after 33 years no analysis has been made regarding the fall of Dhaka, nor has anyone looked into the causes and reason for Pakistan’s failure in the war, hence new generations do not have knowledge of the debacle.
He also said we must adhere to teaching of Qur’an and Sunnah to have pleasure of Allah.
Rahman Abbasi responded by saying that it is more important to discuss the issue of stranded Pakistanis rather than discussing the reason and causes of fall of Dhaka. He said that the forces that surrendered in Dhaka returned home safely, but those who sacrificed for the integrity of the country are still languishing in camps in Bangladesh. He said that we must remind our government to take urgent measures to reactivate the Rabita Trust and arrange repatriation and rehabilitations of quarter million Pakistanis on top priority.
Ehsanul Haque, PRC convener said that Dec. 16, 1971 is a black day in Pakistan’s history. Hundreds of thousand of patriotic Pakistanis lost their nationality status and are still living like animals in 66 camps in Bangladesh.
Naseem Khan who devoted his life for their right died this August without achieving his mission.
He said that he appreciated the role of intellectuals like Khaled Al-Maeena, Abdullah Omar Naseef, Francis Lamand, Majeed Nizami and others who did justice in projecting the rights of stranded Pakistanis. He also said he appreciated Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi and MQM leader Kanwar Khalid Younus for the activation of Rabita Trust to settle the exiles in Punjab where lands were allocated in 1988. He also appreciated federal Minister Babar Khan Ghouri’s meeting with stranded Pakistanis on Nov. 13.
Maleeha Kamal also announced that she would donate royalties from her book “Tainted Shadow” for the rehabilitation of fund for earthquake victims and stranded Pakistanis.
Other guests and speakers included Mohammad Jamil Rathore General Secretary of Pakistan Journalists Forum, Engr. Akhter Siddiqui, Syed Javed Akhter, Mohammad Moiz of Pakistan Engineers Society, Tariq Mahmood.
