At a function held in Jeddah over the weekend to mark Pakistan Day, speakers called on the government of Pakistan to remember those Pakistanis languishing in camps in Bangladesh for over four decades despite making numerous sacrifices for the country. These patriotic people should not be forgotten especially when we celebrate our National Day, they said.

The meeting adopted a number of resolutions urging the government of Pakistan to restart the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis who were left behind in Bangladesh after Pakistan lost its eastern wing in the 1971 war with India. It called upon the government of Pakistan to assign its high commissioner in Dhaka to look after the interests of a quarter million Pakistanis languishing in squalid camps across Bangladesh. It also urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to include in its agenda the issue of stranded Pakistanis.

The PRC meeting urged the United States and the United Nations to compel India to hold a plebiscite in Indian Kashmir.

Athar Nafees Abbasi, who presided over the function, said that to overcome the crisis, Pakistanis should adhere to the principles of Quaid-e-Azam — unity, faith and discipline.

Chief guest Abdul Aleem Khan said Pakistan has enormous resources but  unfortunately it was not exploited and the country relied on foreign aid  that created financial problems and destroyed the economy. He urged the  government to start the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis as per the agreement that led to the establishment of Rabita Trust in 1988 under  which thousands of houses were built. There is no justification in denying  the stranded Pakistanis their rights, he said.

Community leader Riaz Ghumman Choudhry stressed the need to educate the new generation about the sacrifices made to achieve independence.

Vice President of Urdu Markaz Gulab Khan said there is need to work  unitedly to counter the conspiracy being hatched against Pakistan.

Mohammad Azad Khan said Pakistan’s help is crucial for a plebiscite in Kashmir. He criticized the double standard of the world body that he said organized referendums in East Timor and Sudan but failed to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir.

PRC Convener Ehsanul Haque said, “We could not achieve our goals because of some vested interests and are still lost in unresolved issues like that of Kashmir and stranded Pakistanis.”

Azeez Ahmed, secretary-general of Pakistan Engineers Society, Shaikh Mohammad Luqman, Hamid Islam Khan, Shamsuddin Altaf, Mohammad Nawaz Janjua and Syed Shehabuddin also spoke. Abdul Qayyum Waseq conducted the program.