Baibars_1260
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The following are reasons we should consider the return of the minorities to Pakistan.
Ironically, there is a precedent ( in our "friendly neighbor next door " ) though not exactly the same and times have changed drastically :
Let's look at the precedent.
Hostile populations are sometimes invited back
Muslims fleeing communal violence from India's eastern provinces had settled in what was then East Pakistan. In 1972 this population of Pakistani citizens became refugees twice in one generation, in what is now Bangladesh. For the brief duration of India's military presence in Bangladesh, it was duty bound as an occupation force to maintain law and order and protect all civilians ( Ref; The Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention) of 12 August 1949.)
India was getting a lot of international criticism in its initial failure to prevent the killing of Pakistanis. India moved the small surviving civilian Pakistani population into refugee camps, which it could only protect as long as it was in occupation. Though technically not India's responsibility, any further massacres following India's withdrawal would have been pinned on India resulting in more international condemnation. Fearing a bloodbath in the wake of its withdrawal, India quietly offered this stranded Pakistani population the "Right of Return" to India, to areas they had left 25 years earlier. India did risk inducting a resentful population back into India, but the offer immediately quelled the risk of a wholesale massacre in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh waited hoping the Pakistanis would leave one way or another..
With a firmly secular government in power India was confident that it would eventually win over this relatively small population, and assimilate them back into the Indian Muslim population.
The offer was largely ignored and Pakistanis preferred to continue living in refugee camps awaiting a repatriation to Pakistan.
Some Pakistanis used this opportunity to transit through India via Nepal to Pakistan.,
Return of Minorities into Pakistan
.
Here is another precedent.
The Buddhist Chakma population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts were under special protection as a minority, when that territory was part of East Pakistan.
In 1971 fearing the loss of special privileges if the civil war resulted in a secession, a small force of Chakma militants fought alongside Pakistan.
Following the establishment of Bangladesh the Chakmas were on the loosing side. They suffered much in post-war reprisals, resulting in a displacement of their population mostly into Myanmar and later into some heavily forested areas of India.
Pakistan did offer the Chakmas asylum (as best as it could), and a small community of Chakmas loyal to Pakistan escaped via Myanmar, and were repatriated into (West) Pakistan.
The leader of the Chakma fighters Raja Tridev Roy went on to serve as a Federal minister in the Pakistan government, and held several diplomatic and ambassador posts in his long career. During his lifetime Raja Tridev spoke vociferously in defense of his people and highlighted their plight at international forums.
The issue of the return of minorities to Pakistan today has no direct relevance to the precedents above , other than the fact that Pakistan has accepted the return of minority populations in the past.
Those events did produce a small benefit to the international image of both India and Pakistan. India's success in preventing the massacre of Pakistani civilians boosted its international image. Likewise
Pakistan's championship of the Chakma cause through Raja Tridev Roy helped put pressure on Bangladesh to stop massacres of the Chakmas.
Both nations took risks in allowing minorities in. Pakistan was unsure if the Chakmas would maintain their loyalty given the fact that the Bengali Chakma rivalry was beginning to take on a Muslim Buddhist communal overtones, which India could have exploited, but didn't.
The case for the return of minorities today :
Today, allowing Pakistan's minorities back into Pakistan is required because of the following:
- Allowing a minority to return to their native land in safety and honor is a humane act.
The argument for the return of Pakistan's minorities is as sound as the argument for the safe return and rehabilitation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.
- This action will have intense political ramifications in India where beating on the issue of Pakistan's treatment of its minorities is an important tool in the Hindutva agenda of the fascist regime in power.
- False enemy propaganda has placed Pakistan on the wrong side of the Religious Freedom Index and
such actions will be noticed by the global community and improve Pakistan's international standing.
Ironically, there is a precedent ( in our "friendly neighbor next door " ) though not exactly the same and times have changed drastically :
Let's look at the precedent.
Hostile populations are sometimes invited back
Muslims fleeing communal violence from India's eastern provinces had settled in what was then East Pakistan. In 1972 this population of Pakistani citizens became refugees twice in one generation, in what is now Bangladesh. For the brief duration of India's military presence in Bangladesh, it was duty bound as an occupation force to maintain law and order and protect all civilians ( Ref; The Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention) of 12 August 1949.)
India was getting a lot of international criticism in its initial failure to prevent the killing of Pakistanis. India moved the small surviving civilian Pakistani population into refugee camps, which it could only protect as long as it was in occupation. Though technically not India's responsibility, any further massacres following India's withdrawal would have been pinned on India resulting in more international condemnation. Fearing a bloodbath in the wake of its withdrawal, India quietly offered this stranded Pakistani population the "Right of Return" to India, to areas they had left 25 years earlier. India did risk inducting a resentful population back into India, but the offer immediately quelled the risk of a wholesale massacre in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh waited hoping the Pakistanis would leave one way or another..
With a firmly secular government in power India was confident that it would eventually win over this relatively small population, and assimilate them back into the Indian Muslim population.
The offer was largely ignored and Pakistanis preferred to continue living in refugee camps awaiting a repatriation to Pakistan.
Some Pakistanis used this opportunity to transit through India via Nepal to Pakistan.,
Return of Minorities into Pakistan
.
Here is another precedent.
The Buddhist Chakma population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts were under special protection as a minority, when that territory was part of East Pakistan.
In 1971 fearing the loss of special privileges if the civil war resulted in a secession, a small force of Chakma militants fought alongside Pakistan.
Following the establishment of Bangladesh the Chakmas were on the loosing side. They suffered much in post-war reprisals, resulting in a displacement of their population mostly into Myanmar and later into some heavily forested areas of India.
Pakistan did offer the Chakmas asylum (as best as it could), and a small community of Chakmas loyal to Pakistan escaped via Myanmar, and were repatriated into (West) Pakistan.
The leader of the Chakma fighters Raja Tridev Roy went on to serve as a Federal minister in the Pakistan government, and held several diplomatic and ambassador posts in his long career. During his lifetime Raja Tridev spoke vociferously in defense of his people and highlighted their plight at international forums.
The issue of the return of minorities to Pakistan today has no direct relevance to the precedents above , other than the fact that Pakistan has accepted the return of minority populations in the past.
Those events did produce a small benefit to the international image of both India and Pakistan. India's success in preventing the massacre of Pakistani civilians boosted its international image. Likewise
Pakistan's championship of the Chakma cause through Raja Tridev Roy helped put pressure on Bangladesh to stop massacres of the Chakmas.
Both nations took risks in allowing minorities in. Pakistan was unsure if the Chakmas would maintain their loyalty given the fact that the Bengali Chakma rivalry was beginning to take on a Muslim Buddhist communal overtones, which India could have exploited, but didn't.
The case for the return of minorities today :
Today, allowing Pakistan's minorities back into Pakistan is required because of the following:
- Allowing a minority to return to their native land in safety and honor is a humane act.
The argument for the return of Pakistan's minorities is as sound as the argument for the safe return and rehabilitation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.
- This action will have intense political ramifications in India where beating on the issue of Pakistan's treatment of its minorities is an important tool in the Hindutva agenda of the fascist regime in power.
- False enemy propaganda has placed Pakistan on the wrong side of the Religious Freedom Index and
such actions will be noticed by the global community and improve Pakistan's international standing.
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