JEDDAH, 28 May 2007 — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) has called on the government of Pakistan to establish an institute for utilizing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Speakers at a symposium organized here by the PRC to mark the anniversary of Pakistan’s atomic tests urged Islamabad to utilize nuclear energy to overcome the country’s acute power shortage. The meeting called on the Organization of the Islamic Conference to include in its agenda the issue of stranded Pakistanis when its holds its meeting on refugees in Islamabad. Pakistan and Bangladesh, both being members of the OIC, could seek the OIC’s help in resolving the issue, it said. The PRC also thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for ordering 200 tons of dates for the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh.

Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi, who presided over the symposium, “Atomic Energy — Our Need and Responsibility,” said conducting the atomic tests in 1998 was the strategic need of the country but now the situation warrants that nuclear technology be used to generate electricity and for other benefits of the common man.

On the issue of stranded Pakistanis, Abbasi urged President Musharraf to arrange their repatriation as soon as possible. He also called for the settlement of the Kashmir row in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

PRC convener Ehsanul Haque said the credit for the nuclear program goes to Bhutto, Qadeer Khan, Sharif and other scientists. But had Sharif brought back and rehabilitated the stranded Pakistanis he would not only have earned praise but also made the nation proud, he said.

He praised Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for sending 200 tons of dates for the stranded Pakistanis. He also praised Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef and IDB President Dr. Ahmed Mohammad Ali for helping the stranded people. He hoped that the committee formed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to look into the issue of stranded Pakistanis would carry forward the mission of the Rabita Trust and bring back the stranded Pakistanis.

Altaf Hussain, president of the Pakistan Writers’ Forum, said apart from nuclear energy, Pakistan also has a large coal reservoir that could be utilized for power generation.

He said the credit for the nuclear program goes to Abdul Qadeer Khan, former prime ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. He urged President Musharraf to bring back the stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh and initially lodge them in camps vacated by Afghan refugees in the North West Frontier Province.

Chairman of Pakistan Saraiki Forum Rasheed Chishti said the government should give more emphasis to education. He said it was a pity that quarter of a million patriotic Pakistanis were living in Bangladesh camps. He urged President Musharraf to take measures for their repatriation and settlement in Pakistan.

Community leader Gulab Khan said the movement led by Quaid-e-Azam culminated in the creation of Pakistan and Abdul Qadeer Khan’s efforts made the country’s defense impregnable.

He said, “We as a nation are ashamed when we think of patriotic Pakistanis living in Bangladesh camps.”

Ghulam Nabi Butt, chairman of Jammu Kashmir Committee, said Bhutto started the atomic program, Qadeer Khan worked persistently and Sharif took the bold decision of carrying out the tests. He said the issue of stranded Pakistanis should not be politicized. Azeez Ahmed, general secretary of Pakistan Engineer’s Society, said nuclear technology should be used for people’s welfare.

The event was conducted by Hamid Islam Khan.

Poets Abdul Qayyum Waseq, Zamurrad Khan Saifi, Gule Anwar and Tahir Jameel read their poems.