JEDDAH, 24 March 2007 - The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) has called on the government of Pakistan to reactivate the Rabita Trust for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis left behind in Bangladesh after the 1971 war and stressed the need for the resolution of the Kashmir row in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Speakers at a function organized here late on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Pakistan Resolution adopted in Lahore in 1940 said the sacrifices of Muslims culminated in the creation of Pakistan.
They, however, regretted the apathy of the government toward the stranded Pakistanis, who have been languishing in jails and encampments across Bangladesh for over three decades.
A resolution passed at the meeting called on the government to take steps for the repatriation of the stranded people and assign the Pakistani envoy in Bangladesh to look after the Pakistanis until repatriation can take place.
The group also called on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to provide full medical treatment to Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Gilani who has been diagnosed with cancer.
The resolution urged Pakistani charity organizations to help alleviate the suffering of the stranded Pakistanis.
Rauf Tahir, editor of Urdu Magazine, who presided over the function, said Pakistani politicians and leaders should play their role in strengthening the national institutions.
PRC convener Ehsanul Haque said Pakistan was created due to the dynamic and strong leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, however due to the wrong policies of the leaders, the country lost its eastern region in 1971 leaving behind some 250,000 patriotic Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh. He said the government should remember the patriotic Pakistanis and bring them back.
Mohammad Jamil Rathore, general secretary of Pakistan Journalists Forum, said the new generation should be informed about the reason behind the creation of Pakistan.
Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi praised the government's efforts to develop the country, especially Balochistan. He said despite all our weaknesses, we should not be pessimistic about our future.
Other speakers included Azeez Ahmed, general secretary of the Pakistan Engineers Society, Abu Farhan SIddiqui of the Muslim Welfare and Development Organization, Mian Mateen Aslam, chairman of the Pakistan National Circle, and Rasheed Chisti of the Pakistan Seraiki Society.
