JEDDAH, 9 February 2003 — The issue of stranded Pakistanis, who were left in Bangladesh after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, may soon be resolved.
Eminent French lawyer Professor Francis Lamand, who recently visited Pakistan, sounded optimistic after talks in Islamabad with senior officials who assured him that the issue would be taken up at the highest level.
Lamand, who is the president of the France-based “Islam and the West” organization, said he would visit Bangladesh shortly and meet with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to resolve the issue.
He stressed that it should be seen in its real perspective and a practical approach be adopted. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Muslim World League, Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Islamic Development Bank should be involved in the discussions.
Lamand and Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, former secretary-general of Muslim World League, will visit Dhaka soon and meet with Khaleda to seek her assistance.
They will also broach the idea of rehabilitating Pakistanis who would opt for settling down in Bangladesh. Currently, 250,000 Pakistanis are languishing in 66 squalid camps across Bangladesh.
After their meeting with Bangladesh authorities, Lamand and Naseef will visit Pakistan with an updated proposal from Pakistan Repatriation Council.
The present PRC proposal envisages repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis on self-financing basis.
The stranded people would be given Pakistani nationality. This would provide them with opportunities to look for jobs in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Lamand said the issue should be taken up as a humanitarian one. He estimated that 30 percent of the stranded Pakistanis may want to settle down in Bangladesh while others go to Pakistan. He said that the trust fund established for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis be reactivated.
Lamand and Naseef will also try to convince Bangladesh authorities to provide some relief to the camp inmates.
They have been denied health care, education and other facilities because they are not citizens. The PRC has already approached the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to grant the stranded Pakistanis the status of homeless people.
These people cannot be granted refugee status because they have not left their country of origin.
It has also suggested that the plan of building low-cost houses with a soft loan could be implemented in Bangladesh for those who want to settle down there.
