JEDDAH: The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) has urged the present rulers in Islamabad to reactivate the Rabita Trust and start the repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh for over three decades.
At a function organized by the PRC here on Friday night, speakers called upon the government of Pakistan to resolve the outstanding issues of stranded Pakistanis and Kashmir.
Riaz Bukhari, who is the president of the Pakistan People’s Party (community) here, said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had initiated the repatriation of the stranded people and brought over 170,000 of them to Pakistan. He expressed the hope that since a democratic government has assumed charge in the country, the remaining Pakistanis numbering over 300,000 would be repatriate soon.
Qari Shakil Ahmad, president of the Pakistan Muslim League here, said PML leader Nawaz Sharif had repatriated hundreds of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh in 1992, who were later rehabilitated in the Punjab city of Mian Chunnu. Sharif would resolve the issue as soon as he gets an opportunity, he maintained.
Dr. Ghulam Akbar Niazi, chairman of Islamabad Medical College, who was the guest of honor, said it was tragic that patriotic Pakistanis were allowed to languish for 37 years without any moral or material support.
“They are talented people and can earn their livelihood without burdening Pakistan’s economy,” he added.
Journalist Rauf Tahir recalled his visit to the camps of stranded Pakistanis in 1998 and said it was “painful and very difficult to narrate the true picture of their miseries.”
PRC convener Ehsanul Haque urged all political parties to come up with solutions to the burning issues of Pakistan including Kashmir and stranded Pakistanis in their election manifestos. He also urged Edhi Trust and other charitable organizations to extend their services to stranded Pakistanis in alleviating their miseries.
The meeting passed resolutions urging the Pakistani prime minister to reactivate the Rabita Trust, frozen since 2001 and restart the process of repatriation.
