JEDDAH, 28 December 2006 — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) at a meeting here called for urgent steps to start the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh.
The meeting held to mark the birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah adopted a resolution calling on the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh to play their role in resolving the three-decade old issue.
While appreciating the Pakistan government’s move to form a committee to look into the issue, the PRC urged Islamabad to explain the mandate of the committee whether it would replace the Rabita Trust that was formed for the repatriation of the stranded people.
It asked the government to consider the PRC self-finance proposal that envisages the repatriation and rehabilitation of the Biharis on self-help basis.
The resolution also urged Islamabad to advise the Pakistani high commissioner in Dhaka to look after the quarter of a million Pakistanis languishing in Bangladeshi camps. “The OIC should take up the issue at its conference on refugees slated to be held in Islamabad in January,” it said.
The resolution urged charity organizations to help mitigate the sufferings of the stranded people.
On the issue of Kashmir, it asked Islamabad to push the United Nations and the United States to press India to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir and called for including Kashmiris in the ongoing peace talks.
Speakers paid rich tributes to Muhammad Ali Jinnah for leading a freedom struggle that culminated in the creation of Pakistan - a country for the Muslims of South Asia.
Dr. Monawar Hashmi, who presided over the function, said Quaid-e-Azam always appreciated the sacrifices of Muslims from provinces like Bihar.
“These people again proved in 1971 that they stood for the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan. While we pay tribute to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, we should not forget the Pakistanis living in squalid camps in Bangladesh,” he said. He urged President Pervez Musharraf to take measures for their early repatriation. Mohammad Abdur Rafi, who worked with Quaid-e-Azam as a student, also backed the rights of the stranded Pakistanis to return to Pakistan.
Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi of the Pakistan Journalists Forum said that to turn the Quaid’s vision of a prosperous Pakistan into reality, we must strengthen national institutions.
Farhan Siddiqui of the Muslim Welfare & Development Organization said that without following the principles of “Unity, Faith and Discipline” we cannot really achieve progress. He spoke about the pathetic condition of Pakistanis in Bangladeshi camps and appealed to philanthropists to help MWDO in its charitable work. Saraiki leader Rasheed Chishti said the objective of the creation of Pakistan can only be achieved if we work to make it an Islamic welfare state. He also urged the government to bring back stranded Pakistanis.
PRC Convener Ehsanul Haque said that Quaid-e-Azam’s struggle and strong leadership transformed the vision of Iqbal into reality. It is unfortunate that we failed to keep the Quaid’s Pakistan intact after the debacle of 1971.
Those patriotic citizens who tried their best to protect the solidarity and integrity of the country were abandoned to live a miserable life in camps in a hostile country. He praised Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for forming a committee to look into the issue of stranded Pakistanis. He hoped that the committee would carry forward the mission of the Rabita Trust and restart the repatriation process.
The function was conducted by Hamid Islam Khan. Poets Qamar Haider Qamar, Tahir Jameel, Abdul Qayyum Waseq, Zamurrad Khan Saifi, Gule Anwar, Mohsin Alavi and Dardeel Dil Chohan paid rich tributes to Quaid-e-Azam.
Messages of Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, president of Motamar Alam-e-Islami, Nasir Aboudi, deputy secretary-general of Muslim World League and Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of Arab News, were read out on the occasion.
