I read many news items and letters on the quarter of a million patriotic Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh. They are virtually under siege in camps since they are not allowed to go out for education, health, employment etc. With every passing day the issue becomes grimmer. Responsibility for this state of affairs lies on our own government in Islamabad that has persistently denied these people the basic right of citizenship.
On other hand, the government in Bangladesh is persecuting them and other Bengalis for supporting Pakistan during the 1971 war, which was 100 percent legitimate because they were supporting their own country Pakistan then.
We know that majority of those Pakistanis were repatriated in 1973 and some in 1993 under the Muslim World League’s Rabita Trust set up by President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, but concrete steps were never taken to repatriate and rehabilitate them nor any help is extended to protect them from the atrocities of Bengalis which is commonplace.
Whenever Bengalis have to vent their “anger” against Pakistan they attack the camp inmates. Our high commission in Dhaka does not go beyond mere lip service.
Nawaz Sharif has come to power with strong mandate and is going to have his own president. Moreover, with the army and judiciary’s pro-democratic attitude, it is a golden opportunity for Sharif to fulfill his commitment concerning the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis which his government had started in 1993. He had already allocated land in Punjab in 1988 for construction of houses for them and thousands of housing units were constructed in 1993 with a few hundred of Pakistanis having arrived from Bangladesh and rehabilitated there too. Though Rabita Trust was frozen by Gen. Musharraf in 2001, it is said to have enough fund to organize repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis.
We appeal to the rulers and the leaders of Bangladesh to extend at least minimum human treatment to these hapless Pakistanis and facilitate their safe repatriation to Pakistan.
I appeal to the Muslim World League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation to extend support to the Rabita Trust in terms of financial and other means to solve one of the protracted human and Muslim tragedies of the present time. — Mohammad Nasir Khan, Jeddah
Stranded Pakistanis
