This refers to the story, “Repatriation of stranded Pakistanis sought” (Oct. 26). It is highly appreciable that Francis Lamand, president of the Paris-based organization “Islam and the West,” has taken the issue seriously. He took the pain to meet former President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and tried to convince them for giving those stranded people their “ lost” rights of Pakistani citizenship. Though he did not elaborate on the outcome of these meetings but I could understand that both of them did not give any positive reply. It is pity that Rabita Trust which was established in 1988 was frozen in 2002 by Musharraf then we can understand how he will be ready to support the legitimate rights of those people.
Since Pakistan is going to polls, I think all the national political parties should include on their agenda the issue of repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis.
In the past many leaders made such promises which they never kept since it was not a part of their agenda but merely a slogan to draw votes. — Mohammad Nasir Khan, Jeddah