Pakistani expatriates call for establishing Iqbal university

The Jeddah-based Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) observed the 75th death anniversary of Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal on Friday and urged Pakistan to establish an Iqbal research university as a befitting tribute to the country’s highly acclaimed thinker, philosopher and poet. The university “should impart knowledge to the new generation about the objective and mission of creating Pakistan,” which was Iqbal’s dream, speakers said.
The meeting adopted resolutions calling for plebiscite in India-held Kashmir under the auspices of the United Nations.
It also asked President Asif Zardari to reactivate the Rabita Trust and restart the repatriation and rehabilitation of the thousands of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. These hapless people have been living in wretched conditions in Bangladesh camps since 1971.
The meeting praised the establishment of the Nawa-i-Waqt Fund for stranded Pakistanis noting that 100 million rupees have been raised during 10 years to alleviate the miseries of the stranded people.
The meeting urged charitable organizations like the Edhi Trust, Jamaat-e-Islami, MQM, Tehrik-e-Insaf and other parties to help the stranded Pakistanis. Noted poet and writer Athar Nafees Abbasi, currently the president of Alami Urdu Markaz, presided over the function, and appreciated PRC’s holding functions on all the important days of Pakistan and raising the issues of Kashmir and stranded Pakistanis. “We can solve the problems in Pakistan by adhering to Iqbal’s message,” Abbasi, said, and urged the government to organize repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh.
Hamid Islam Khan, deputy PRC convener, condemned Bangladesh’s “1971 War crime trial,” saying the tribunal has failed to show its legitimacy as per international judiciary standard. This has put stranded Pakistanis in a very critical position and most of their leadership is forced to go into hiding.
PRC convener Syed Ehsanul Haque said the failure to build a true welfare state was due to non-adherence to Quaid-e-Azam’s teachings of unity, faith and discipline
Tayyab Moosani, general secretary, Pakistan’s Memon Association, said Iqbal’s message not only draws attention of elders but children also, who like his poetry since he is a universal poet and philosopher
Mohammad Jamil Rathore, general secretary, Pakistan Journalists Forum, put stress on character building of the people and said that Iqbal gave a lot of emphasis on the character of Muslims.
Social worker Mohammad Amanatullah, Syed Musarrat Khalil, a journalist, and Shamsuddin Altaf also spoke at the event. PRC’s Secretary-General Abdul Qayyum Waseq conducted the proceedings.