Nawaz Sharif Must Help Repatriate The Stranded Pakistanis
08 February 2016By Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi
The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) recently organized a symposium to
commemorate the Martyrs' Day after the fall of Dhaka during the civil war in
East Pakistan. Several prominent figures from the Pakistani community in
Jeddah attended the function. Their speeches focused mainly on the plight of
the stranded Pakistanis, who are also known as Biharis. These people never
expected the fall of Dhaka and the secession of East Pakistan to create the
independent state of Bangladesh. Their expectation was that the Pakistan army
would come to their rescue in view of the fact that they stood by the army and
made great sacrifices to safeguard a united Pakistan. These people speak Urdu,
the language of Pakistan, and they did not take part in the struggle started
by Bengalis known as the ''Language Movement'' which was the first sign of the
differences between the two parts of Pakistan.
Before partition, Muslims were a minority in the eastern Indian state of
Bihar. There were clashes between Muslims and the majority Hindus because of
differences in religion, culture and ethnicity. Muslims were the weaker
section and their losses were immense in these clashes. This prompted
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to declare that the ''massacres that took
place in Bihar led to the creation of Pakistan.''
At the time of the partition of the subcontinent, Muslims from Bihar moved to
East Pakistan because of its proximity to their native land. They filled the
posts vacant at the railway, jute factories and paper mills when Hindus who
worked there migrated to India.
These Muslims made great sacrifices to realize their ambition of living in the
nation of their choice. During the civil war fought mainly by the Pakistan
army and the militia loyal to the Awami League party, these people stood by
the army in order to safeguard the unity of Pakistan.
Following defeat in the war, the Pakistani general surrendered and he along
with other Pakistani soldiers were taken to India as war prisoners. The
prisoners of war also included some civilians belonging to the West Pakistan
regions, which later became part of Pakistan after the secession of
Bangladesh, leaving behind the Biharis in Bangladesh. The Biharis felt cheated
as they were not welcomed in the new state because of their allegiance to the
Pakistan army during the civil war. The Bengalis considered them to be enemies
and subsequently, they were subjected to murder and rape, and they were driven
out of their homes and their property was confiscated. As a result, they were
forced to move to squalid and crowded camps where they were deprived of even
the basic amenities of life.
These stranded Pakistanis are living with the hope of being repatriated one
day to Pakistan. However, they are yet to realize their dream as successive
governments in Pakistan have failed to fulfill their promises in this regard.
There was an exception for this during the period of President General
Zia-ul-Haq. The Zia government, in cooperation with the Makkah-based Muslim
World League (Rabita), created the Rabita Endowment. At that time, Dr.
Abdullah Omar Nasif was the secretary general of Rabita. The endowment was
designed to ensure the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis who would be
settled on land donated by Nawaz Sharif, the then chief minister of Punjab
province. General Zia-ul-Haq showed keen interest in the repatriation of the
stranded Pakistanis. But the tragic death of Zia dashed all hopes of
repatriation because the successive governments showed no interest in the
matter.
When Sharif assumed power as prime minister of Pakistan, there were renewed
hopes of reactivating the MWL endowment for Biharis. He expressed his keenness
and desire to revive the endowment and took charge as its president. Sharif
managed to construct a number of houses and repatriated some Bihari families
after allotting houses to them. But the project was halted by the Army Chief
General Pervez Musharraf, who became president after ousting Sharif from
power. Musharraf gave up the endowment's presidency.
However, there has been no follow up action on the part of either the Pakistan
government or Rabita to resolve the issue of the stranded Pakistanis. These
people are denied help from the UN fund for refugees even though their plight
is worse than that of some refugees. The stranded Pakistanis now receive help
from a few charity societies and Pakistan-based NGOs as well as from some
individuals, including those from Bangladesh, but this assistance is quite
insufficient to meet their basic requirements for food, education and
healthcare.
I would like to emphasize the fact that the Pakistan government must shoulder
its humanitarian, moral and political responsibilities in resolving the issue
of the stranded Pakistanis. Otherwise, this will remain a blot on the image
and history of Pakistan. I appeal to Sharif to take steps to accomplish the
great mission he embarked on during his first two terms as the prime minister
of Pakistan.
Allah will help us as long as we are in support of weaker sections among us.
This is what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stressed when he said: ''Are
you not fed and helped but because of your weaker sections.''
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast
Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments