Saudi Arabia's concern for 'Pakistanis' in Bangladesh

[Riyad]

The lingering ordeal of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh

Jun 29, 2016

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Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

I was recently invited to attend an iftar party organized by Abu Farhan Siddiqui at a Pakistani restaurant in Jeddah. Siddiqui is a Pakistani citizen who worked in the Kingdom and then returned to his country and established with some of his friends an NGO called the Muslim Welfare & Development Organization (MW&DO). The NGO, which was registered in Bangladesh, is working for the welfare of stranded Pakistanis living in Bangladeshi camps.

MW&DO is carrying out humanitarian work in the fields of education, health and provision of food for stranded Pakistanis who have been languishing in tents without having the basic amenities of life since the secession of East Pakistan and creation of the new state of Bangladesh 45 years ago. There are also several other NGOs which are rendering similar services to these hapless people.

I was asked to deliver a speech at the iftar party. At the very outset, I thanked Siddiqui and his organization as well as similar organizations for their commendable work in alleviating the suffering of stranded Pakistanis. I drew attention to the miserable living conditions of these people who are battling with poverty and diseases in their overcrowded camps located in various regions of Bangladesh.

I recalled my visit to one of the largest camps in Dhaka while I was serving as charge de affaires at the Saudi embassy there. I saw these people living like animals and, hence, realized that it was the duty of every Muslim, in general, and Pakistanis, in particular, to extend all possible assistance to these people in alleviating their miseries. My visit to the camp two decades ago was organized by Mir Quasem Ali, who was then the director of the office of the Muslim World League (Rabita) in Bangladesh. He exerted great efforts to support stranded Pakistanis as well as the Burmese refugees in their camps in Cox’s Bazar. Ali is now behind bars after being sentenced to death for war crimes. He was sentenced to death at the end of an unjust farcical trial that lacked even the basic judicial standards and norms as pointed out by many international human rights organizations.

In my speech, I expressed my astonishment and dismay over the position of the Bangladeshi government toward a quarter of a million stranded Pakistanis, saying: “Keeping silent and pretending ignorance at the ordeal of these Pakistanis will not change the reality that they are Pakistanis and have been ever since they had left their native land in the Indian state of Bihar at the time of the partition of the subcontinent. They migrated to the new state of Pakistan like millions of other Muslims who migrated to either the western or eastern parts of Pakistan. When the Bengalis wanted to secede from United Pakistan, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of the new state of Bangladesh. During the civil war, Biharis stood by the Pakistan army so as to safeguard the unity of Pakistan, and subsequent to the defeat of the Pakistan army in the war, it was evident that these people might not be welcome in the new state. Thus, stranded Pakistanis were the first victims of the secession of East Pakistan.

When Pakistani soldiers were taken into India as prisoners of war, these Biharis were left to meet the worst fate in their live. Those, who escaped from death were forced to seek shelter in camps that sprung up in various parts of Bangladesh. They are still languishing in these camps with the hope that they will one day be repatriated to Pakistan.

However, successive governments in Pakistan have failed to fulfill their promises in this regard. President Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was an exception. He took keen interest in the repatriation of these people and initiated the setting up of the Rabita Endowment, which was meant to take steps to ensure the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis and put an end to their suffering. However, the unexpected death of Gen. Zia had a negative impact on the functioning of the Endowment. It became inactive though it did not cease to exist.

Later, there were serious attempts to revive it when Nawaz Sharif became prime minister for the first time. Sharif took over the chairmanship of the Endowment and was instrumental in repatriating a number of families. They were accommodated in houses built on land donated by the Punjab provincial government. But the activities of the Endowment came to a halt with the end of his first tenure. When Sharif came to power for the second time, he made some efforts to revive the Endowment again but the military coup staged by Gen. Pervez Musharraf shattered the plan. Musharraf shut down the Endowment and paid no heed to the demand of the stranded Pakistanis.

The stranded Pakistanis still hope that Sharif will take the initiative to address their problem during his current third tenure as prime minister of Pakistan. There are several people, including myself, who also hope that this issue will be one of the top priorities of the Sharif government.

However, unfortunately, he seems to be preoccupied with some political issues and has so far not taken any steps to address the pressing issue of these hapless people. I once again appeal to Prime Minister Sharif to give top priority to finding a permanent solution to the problem of the stranded Pakistanis through taking initiatives for their repatriation and rehabilitation in Pakistan.

— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com

http://saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/lingering-ordeal-stranded-pakistanis-bangladesh/

 

[Anubis]

We should appoint a king and then behead Qasem Ali on shapla chattar or zero point to meet their standards... A monarchy that beheads people for not believing something(literally a thought crime) has no business teaching us how to deal with war criminals.
On a serious note...Pakistanis should have taken them back...now their children and Bangladeshi citizens...unless entire families wish to go back it will be impossible.

 

[bongbang]

How come they are living like animals. They are virtually the ruler of BD in the name of PNP*/JeI. Helpless general native BD population are victim of their terrorism and living in misery.

*PNP is also known as BNP. In Arabic there is no use of 'P' so they use 'B' instead of 'P'.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

We should appoint a king and then behead Qasem Ali on shapla chattar or zero point to meet their standards... A monarchy that beheads people for not believing something(literally a thought crime) has no business teaching us how to deal with war criminals.
On a serious note...Pakistanis should have taken them back...now their children and Bangladeshi citizens...unless entire families wish to go back it will be impossible.

We should take quarter of a million people back (displaced by war and their houses,property looted)... And instead deport 3 million Bangladeshis living in Pakistan..

300,000 for 3 million.. That's a fair trade by all accounts.

 

[Anubis]

We should take quarter of a million people back (displaced by war and their houses,property looted)... And instead deport 3 million Bangladeshis living in Pakistan..

300,000 for 3 million.. That's a fair trade by all accounts.

You can deport whoever you want....but only stranded Bangladeshis will be a part of the deal....and the other Bengalis will need Bangladeshi passports to come back....Bangladesh won't be stamping visas on Pakistani passports...and if they don't have any passport you can't prove they are Bangladeshi citizens...I don't know about Pakistan but Bangladesh has now a database of almost all of its citizens(they will have one with everyone registered)(And most of your Bengalis aren't on the list)...so at best you can do is to keep those Bengalis in your jail...remember you don't have a land border with us like you do with the afghans....you can't just push them through the border....so either you leave them in peace...put them in jail or throw them in the ocean...but given your past record and your current(and foreseeable) reputation in the world I would suggest leave them if you don't want everyone to treat you as the next Rwanda for killing 3 million people.

 

[EasyNow]

You can deport whoever you want....but only stranded Bangladeshis will be a part of the deal....and the other Bengalis will need Bangladeshi passports to come back....Bangladesh won't be stamping visas on Pakistani passports...and if they don't have any passport you can't prove they are Bangladeshi citizens...I don't know about Pakistan but Bangladesh has now a database of almost all of its citizens(they will have one with everyone registered)(And most of your Bengalis aren't on the list)...so at best you can do is to keep those Bengalis in your jail...remember you don't have a land border with us like you do with the afghans....you can't just push them through the border....so either you leave them in peace...put them in jail or throw them in the ocean...but given your past record and your current(and foreseeable) reputation in the world I would suggest leave them if you don't want everyone to treat you as the next Rwanda for killing 3 million people.

Oh yes, I believe the thekedars of Islam are perfectly right to take these 300,000 under their wing. Bye bye boys, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

P. S. I will take human rights advice from KSA , the day they stop keeping bangalis as bonded slaves in their country.

 

[Indika]

Those insects are illegal Bangladeshi that have been flooding in since 71 till mid 2000s... And most of them don't have Pakistani passports

show some respect, 30 years back they were fighting for pakistan.

Bangladesh & pakistan should try to come to an amicable soln either absorb them or exchange them. Absorbing them and moving forward is what makes a nation.

 

[ranjeet]

I wonder why MQM who position itself as a "muhajir" party doesn't raise the issue of stranded Pakistanis in the parliament.

 

[sbmc27]

Agreed.

show some respect, 30 years back they were fighting for pakistan.

Bangladesh & pakistan should try to come to an amicable soln either absorb them or exchange them. Absorbing them and moving forward is what makes a nation.

 

[WAJsal]

show some respect, 30 years back they were fighting for pakistan.

Bangladesh & pakistan should try to come to an amicable soln either absorb them or exchange them. Absorbing them and moving forward is what makes a nation.

Thank you for the comment, made my day. People tend to forget that a good number of people came to Pakistan because they were facing prosecutions in Bangladesh(still do to this date, poor Biharis). Others came seeking better lives and look what they have gotten and how we have treated them.
We need to make a clear policy, get our people out of Bangladesh, get Biharis and bring them home. No need to send Bangladeshi refugees here in Pakistan back, as they will never be accepted back. They are seen as traitors, and might as well be hanged. And also look at some of the comments made by our Bangladeshi friends here, these are supposed to be your people, some of them coming here illegally.

30 years back they were fighting for pakistan.

Exactly.

Bangladesh & pakistan should try to come to an amicable soln either absorb them or exchange them.

Bangladesh will never accept them back and we are not competent enough to even think about this issue, let alone resolve it. There is a need to send a good number of Afghan refugees back(though i am not against giving some of them citizenship), and a need to get these people home.

 

[livingdead]

what is the number of people living in the camps..

 

[Species]

what is the number of people living in the camps..

151,000. Others have accepted Bangladeshi citizenship.

 

[somebozo]

We should take quarter of a million people back (displaced by war and their houses,property looted)... And instead deport 3 million Bangladeshis living in Pakistan..

300,000 for 3 million.. That's a fair trade by all accounts.

Actually if we do that..it would bring Bangladesh to sense and they would begging to keep their citizens just like Afghanistan...

 

[fitpOsitive]

Oh yes, I believe the thekedars of Islam are perfectly right to take these 300,000 under their wing. Bye bye boys, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

P. S. I will take human rights advice from KSA , the day they stop keeping bangalis as bonded slaves in their country.

Bonded slaves? What are you talking about? First care for your 4 millions Bengali women serving all over the world as prostitutes, and by will, or sold by their own parents. Bengalis do those job which no body wants to do. Pakistan is the only place on the face of this planet earth where Bengalis are treated like humans. And we dont kill them at border (at sea or those coming from Indian border).

You can deport whoever you want....but only stranded Bangladeshis will be a part of the deal....and the other Bengalis will need Bangladeshi passports to come back....Bangladesh won't be stamping visas on Pakistani passports...and if they don't have any passport you can't prove they are Bangladeshi citizens...I don't know about Pakistan but Bangladesh has now a database of almost all of its citizens(they will have one with everyone registered)(And most of your Bengalis aren't on the list)...so at best you can do is to keep those Bengalis in your jail...remember you don't have a land border with us like you do with the afghans....you can't just push them through the border....so either you leave them in peace...put them in jail or throw them in the ocean...but given your past record and your current(and foreseeable) reputation in the world I would suggest leave them if you don't want everyone to treat you as the next Rwanda for killing 3 million people.

Yeah I know Bangladesh is on Mars nowadays and every department is operating in 5th Generation standard.

 

[EasyNow]

Bonded slaves? What are you talking about? First care for your 4 millions Bengali women serving all over the world as prostitutes, and by will, or sold by their own parents. Bengalis do those job which no body wants to do. Pakistan is the only place on the face of this planet earth where Bengalis are treated like humans. And we dont kill them at border (at sea or those coming from Indian border).


Yeah I know Bangladesh is on Mars nowadays and every department is operating in 5th Generation standard.

Without delay you stooped to sleaziness and racism.

If you don't recognise real injustice in this world like modern day slavery, then don't pretend to be good samaritan in Bangladeshi affairs.

And the point stands, you can happily take all 300,000, in fact that you were supposed to take them 45 years ago. You were wrong to abandon them then and you are wrong giving empty words now.

Ps. Those 'bangalis' in Pakistan mostly have NIC docs, they have been residents for decades if not born there. They are as Pakistani as you now, so you aren't doing us any favours.