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Repatriation of stranded Pakistanis

30 March 2004, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By ZH Ansari, Chairman Ad hoc relief committee, Halishahar Non Locals Camp, Chittagong
30 March 2004, 18:00 PM
Self-respecting nations, developed or under developed, never keep their nationals stranded in other countries . Bangladesh, despite being war ravaged and in a stage of infancy in 1972, brought back its nationals from Pakistan. Pakistan also followed the same suit. But Mr. ZA Bhutto stopped the on-going process of repatriation on the plea that further repatriation would upset the demographic balance in Sindh and would have a negative impact on the economy of Pakistan. This did not fit in with the strategic vision of the visionaries. Since then, all the successive governments in Pakistan maintained a fatal silence on repatriation ignoring the fact that Mr. MA Jinnah had allowed mass Muslim migration from India to Pakistan in 1947 when all important components of the newly born state were in shambles.

The stranded Biharis are peace loving people . As long as Pakistan flouts the legitimate right of Stranded Pakistanis to return to their country, it will remain embroiled in a political trauma. Pakistan should develop a political culture on the basis of the forgotten ideology; otherwise its stability will always remain at stake. For all the disconcerting and frustrating years, the stranded in Bangladesh remain die-hard Pakistanis languishing in 66 camps.

Repatriation has the support of 14 crore Bangladeshis as well as other Muslim countries. For its recalcitrant attitude, international pressure started mounting on Pakistan. Under pressure Pakistan changed the tone and rhetoric from its earlier stand on repatriation.

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The unanswered questions-who are they, what is their nationality etc. started looming large on the horizon of the world. To avoid abrasive international reaction, Pakistan agreed to take back its remaining nationals on "humanitarian ground". The stranded welcomed the gesture. So many rounds of meetings between the prime minister of Bangladesh and the president of Pakistan were held in Islamabad and Dhaka but there was no breakthrough. Under pressure from Bangladesh, a token repatriation was made which was considered a prelude to total repatriation. But whenever total repatriation of stranded Pakistanis looks like a real possibility, negative things start happening in Pakistan. Similarly, "Repatriation" has become an irritating factor in the relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

We hope sanity will prevail and all the stranded Pakistanis will get the opportunity to go back to Pakistan.